Here we are at cast #12

Savanna received cast #12 today, and what a trooper she was.  Before we get into that though, let's review some of Savanna's latest adventures...

Adventures:

Helping bake brownies.

 Jumping in muddy puddles (Peppa Pig style).

All dressed up and cruisin'.

Picking out pumpkins!

Halloween 2015 - Costume #1 - Minnie Mouse

Costume #2 - Purple Kitty Cat

Family photos!

How'd she get so precious??

Make a wish...

Too cute

At the Shriners Circus (a great fundraising event for the Shriners Hospitals)

Pony Ride!

Royalty at its best!

Cast Removal:

After her cast was off, she said "Mama, take a picture of my back!"  She knows the drill.  :-)  Her back (and skin) looks really good!  There is a small hump on the lower right though.  I had originally thought that the hump was her potential "over-correction" from casting.  Now I realize that it is actually the lower part of her double curve.  More on that below.

Pre-Op Appointment:

Savanna's pre-op went well, and she had x-rays this time.  Her doctor was pretty upbeat about her progress, which actually means he was pretty excited, considering his quiet demeanor.  Basically, her top curve is essentially gone (!!), and we are now working on her lower curve which is at 24 degrees.  The first photo below shows her most recent x-ray (yesterday) on the left and her one from 6 months ago on the right.  The second one shows her measurement of 24 degrees.

 Casting Day:

The day started with Savanna, her daddy, and grand-daddy Papa Billy arriving at the hospital at 8:30am.  Savanna got to do some fun things while she waited to be called back for surgery.  She played with the train table.

She painted herself a bird house.

Then in the pre-op room she got to pick out a new book (Doc McStuffins, of course!).

Getting ready to go back to the OR.

After surgery, eating goldfish and letting her cast dry.

Getting her cast trimmed, petalled, and cobanned.  She picked purple again!

Her doctor was pretty excited about the correction he got in this cast, a straight spine!  Now we know that she will for sure be growing straight.  Apparently, lower curves are harder to manipulate and correct because you do not have the rib cage available to help with pushing things into the right places.  Here is her in-cast x-ray.  I can't wait to see an x-ray like this withOUT a cast!

Savanna did great again, like always.  She is such a strong little girl.  She did get sick on the way home from the hospital though, likely due to the anesthesia, but she was fine after that.  That hurts my heart for her.  I never want her to feel sick, especially on big days like today.

Her next cast is scheduled for February 18, 2016, and her next x-ray will be in another 6 months or so.  So, we will continue on with casting in the meantime while we work on that lower curve.  Please keep her and a straight spine in your thoughts!  Thanks for reading!!

Cast #11 is on!

October 1, 2015

Here we are at cast number 11.  We are already 21 months into the casting process.  Time flies when you are growing up fast!  Before we get into the casting day, we need to review some of this little girl's recent adventures...

Adventures:

Hanging out at Shindig on the Green - one of her favorite summer activities.

Eating her first ice cream cone, at 3 years old.  (She was just never interested before!) 

Riding her bike in the park.

Playing a little soccer in the park.

Being a great big sister/mama and helping to feed Emerson and her baby, Puppy. 

Fun with headbands!  We were all wearing them that day.  You get a headband, and you get a headband...

 Doing a little reading with Daddy and Emerson.

More ice cream!  Date day with Mama.

In her "dancer skirt" and Mama's slippers. 

More Shindig! 

Hanging out with her cousins from Ohio. 

Helping bathe Emerson. 

"I got pockets..."

Pool time at Papa Billy and Grandma Lou Lou's!

Fun times at Aunt Katherine's wedding.

We went to the beach for a couple of days during this cast break.  Due to the poor weather, Savanna's trepidation about the ocean, and then a fever that lasted her for a couple of days, unfortunately, not much beach time was had.  However, we did get to go the the aquarium one day and hang out with our family quite a bit.

Playing dress up with her buddy Jolene.

Prepping for Casting Day:

Savanna had her pre-op appointment the day before casting.  She is now 35 inches tall (!!) and 27 pounds.  Way to grow, Savanna!  Her doctor thinks casting is going well and has recommended an x-ray before her next cast.  Her last x-ray will have been 6 months prior.  The night before the pre-op I was looking at her back, and it looks really good to me!  Her doctor once told us that he knows the kids are done casting when the curve is going in the other direction, or has been overcorrected.  After looking at her back, I can't help feeling that we are closer than ever to this goal!  Even after being out of the cast over a week, during which time her spine would have had plenty of time to achieve her natural posture, her back looks like it was holding similar to how the cast holds her (i.e. pushed in on back left and ribs moving to the right).  Anyway, the doctor was non-committal about the potential improvement, but it gives me hope!  See what you think... 

In the first picture, she is not standing up completely straight, but you get an idea.

The second one is a little better.

Casting Day:

Typically, Savanna has approximately a 3-4 day cast break in between casts.  However, this time, due to an ill-timed fever, we had to reschedule her casting.  Therefore, she had a 12-day cast break.  I was not super excited about this because I worry so much about losing correction with her curve.  However, it was only 12 days (thankfully Shriners could get us in quickly), and it was so nice to have squishy hugs and real baths for that time period.  

The day started at 3:30 this morning because Savanna had to be there at 6:00am.  She was the first and only case of the day.  Her daddy had to take her to the casting by himself this time because it would have been too hard to bring her little brother to the casting too.  I hope to go again soon!  It feels nuts for me not to be able to be there with her.  

All went well with the casting.  She was a little slow to wake up this time after anesthesia, but she did get woken up at 4:00am today, so who can blame her?  She was looking forward to getting her cool cast put back on and chose to have a purple cast again.  (Sorry that we don't have any other photos from today.)

Her next cast is scheduled for December 3, 2015.

Thanks for reading and for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!