Savanna had her 6-month check up with Dr. Pete on November 14, 2019. The appointment went well, but before going into that, let's take a walk through some of Savanna's adventures over the last 6 months:
May:
Bluebirds in Ballet
Savanna won "Best Listener" in her class
June:
Someone turned seven and celebrated with a "mock sleepover"! [It's awesome; all the makings of a sleepover (e.g. jammies, sleeping bags, popcorn, movies, staying up later than normal, etc.), but the kiddos go home and sleep in their own beds!] Hatchimals were her latest obsession!
Hiking at Moore Creek Falls
"Broadway" Jazz Dance Summer Camp
Family trip to Isle of Palms, SC
July:
Memphis Kiddie Park in Ohio
Camping at Lake Santeelah with friends
Savanna showing off her loot from her post-eye surgery care packages. She had bilateral strabismus surgery to correct some misalignment of her eyes. The surgery went very well! Geez, the things this girl has to go through... What a trooper she is!!
August:
Aunt Tracy comes to visit
Violin Camp (She loved it so much that she is now taking lessons!)
First Day of School!
September:
Butterfly beauty
October:
Fun at Venardos (People-only) Circus
Justus Orchard Apple Picking
Drumming at LEAF (Lake Eden Arts Festival) with Darrell Rose
Pumpkin Time
Halloween (Ladybug and Queen Bee from Miraculous, Black Kitty, and Biker Dude)
November:
Trip to the Greenville Zoo
Pumpkin Smashing at New Belgium
Savanna's first "recital" at The Hop Ice Cream Shop
Trip to Shriners:
All in all the appointment was good. She is holding steady at about 12 degrees.
This is amazing considering where she started at 52 degrees (middle photo below).
Here's the side-by-side comparison for this visit vs. last visit. Last time, they measured her at about 8 degrees. However, as you can see in the x-ray, she is holding a bar, which likely made her look straighter than she really is.
Of course I always want her to be at zero... but we will take 12. Her doctor said that he would not even generally brace someone with a 12-degree curve, but because of her history, we will continue to brace. He is super excited with where she is, and indicated that because she was able to make it to age seven without needing growing rods, etc. (and we don't see any future need for those at this time), this means that scoliosis ultimately should not impact her quality of life in the future. What awesome news! She will continue to wear her Providence brace at night only, and we will go back for another check up in 6 months.
It's been a long almost-6-year journey (see where we started here), but it's so wonderful that we have seen the results we have!
No visit to Shriners would be complete without a hangout sesh with favorite scoli buddy Lyla. We tried out The Children's Museum of the Upstate, and it was AMAZING! 3 floors of fun, and we only made it through 1.5 of them before we had to leave. Next visit to Shriners, we will probably head back there (if not sooner!). It was super cool!
Savanna and Lyla in the rocket ship
In the wind tunnel
At the grocery store (it was pure chaos!)
2-story climbing nest
Life-size "Operation"
Savanna and Lyla with a drum that beats to match your heart beat. Really neat. (Odette is making sure the big girls stay in line.)
Time to go camping and fishing
Trying to pull herself up with pulleys (By the way, the big reddish thing in the background is a stomach you get to travel through. It makes some interesting noises...)
Thanks for reading! I will post again after our next visit sometime in May 2020. Happy Holidays!!
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