It's Brace Time!

After 2 MRIs, 16 plaster Mehta casts, and numerous x-rays it is now time for Savanna to get her brace.  It is sort of her "diploma" from graduating from the casting process.  We are so lucky that casting was a successful treatment for her!!  Before we get into her brace fitting day, let's review some recent adventures...

Adventures:

Hanging out at Burial Beer Company

Beach trip to Sullivan's Island!

Fun at Ft. Moultrie

Savanna and Emerson had so much fun playing in the sand.

Lunch by the light house

Picking up sea shells at Isle of Palms

Beach biking!

Silly girl

Boardwalk in Mount Pleasant

Obligatory sunset photos :-)

Cast Off Party

Way back in January of 2014, our wonderful friends had a "Cast On" party after Savanna got her first cast to show us their love and support.  Here is a link to those party photos.  Therefore, we wanted to have a "Cast Off" party to help celebrate Savanna's cast removal.  We were celebrating her strength and bravery throughout the whole casting proces,s as well as celebrating our friends that have provided us with so much support.

Fun in the bouncy house

Watching "Savanna's Casting Journey" video (more on that below)

Hiking at DuPont State Forest

Pumpkin Picking and Carving

Fun with Emerson

Halloween

We were, of course, the Pawsome Paw Patrol, with Savanna starring as Everest and Emerson as Chase.  I was Skye, and daddy was Ryder.  We had a blast on our neighbor's Halloween Hay Trailer!

Video:

I made a video to showcase Savanna's casting journey over the past three years.  I didn't even cry while making it, if you can believe that.  However, while watching it with all of our friends around at the "Cast Off" party, I may have shed a few tears...  I hope you enjoy it!

Last Cast Removal!

We went to Shriners in October to have Savanna's last cast removed after it had been on for 3.5 weeks.  They used this cast to help mold for her brace.  We would usually take the casts off at home; however, for a very clean cut, they wanted to remove it with the cast saw.  Savanna did not prefer the loud saw's noise, but she was really brave, and didn't even squirm.

The AMAZING Dr. Pete!  He and the Shriners' staff have helped to take great care of Savanna and our family.

The Brace:

We picked up Savanna's new TLSO (thoracolumbosacral orthosis) brace today.  I would be lying if I said that this was not an emotional day.  In theory it is a celebration, right?  Yay for the brace!  However, in practice, it really does suck that she has to go back into a torso contraption.  Yes, it can be taken off, which is really nice, but when your baby girl cries when it is put on because it is "hurting her tummy too much," your heart breaks a little.  Anyway, of course it is the best thing for her right now, but it still stinks.  It definitely seems slimmer than the cast, at least a bit, but it is still a pretty rigid structure on her little body.  Thankfully, the prosthetics guy was able to adjust it, and she did not complain anymore.  She has had it on since 12:30pm today and is sleeping in it now.  Fingers crossed that she gets used to it quickly.  What a trooper she is!!

Pretty purple brace with colorful stars

And, of course, Everest is on the side!!  It's her Paw Patrol brace!

Her "in brace" x-ray shows a curve of only 2.5 degrees!  That is really great news.  Maybe she'll even continue to achieve more correction in the brace??  (I certainly hope so, or at least that it helps hold her curve.  Dr. Pete said that he has had to put some kids BACK in a cast before...  That is not a possibility we want to consider, if we can help it.)  She will wear the brace pretty much all of the time (22-23 hours of the day) and will only take it off for baths, ballet, and swimming.

Next Steps:

Savanna goes back for a brace check-up and x-ray in March 2017.

This will be my last blog posting for a while, but I will make sure to provide another update after her next x-ray in March.  I have really enjoyed writing this blog for Savanna and all of you.  It has been a labor of love and has proven to be fairly therapeutic for me as well.  I hope it has helped our friends and family to stay 'in the know' about Savanna's journey.  I also hope it has helped to raise awareness about infantile scoliosis and has provided support and information to those families going through the same journey.

Thank you to Dr. Pete and Shriners, thank you to ISOP for bringing Mehta casting to the United States and being a resource for families in our shoes, and thank you to our friends and family for all of your support.  Also, thank YOU for reading!  Please have a happy and safe holiday season!

Here's to lots of swimming, real baths, and straight spines!  ~ Lisa