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!!