She's Looking Awesome!

Happy end of summer/beginning of fall!

It's only been 3 months since our last check in, but per usual, Savanna has had some adventures to tell you about before we get into her (awesome) Shriners visit!

Recent Adventures:

Camping with friends

Visit to Cleveland

First day of school

Baking a cake with a friend

First day of new dance class!

Visit to Shriners:

This visit was pretty great!  Just as we thought/hoped from the last visit in June (discussed here), Savanna had been standing a bit funny during the last x-ray, which caused her curve to look like it was about 19 degrees.  

However, this x-ray taken yesterday (September 14), looked so good that the physician assistant did not even measure the curve.  She said, "I did not even measure the curve.  If anything, it would maybe be about 6 degrees, max!"  How cool is that?  We have been so fortunate that Savanna has held steady for this long.  She has now been out of her brace full time since early February 2022, about 7 months.

She still has the spondylolisthesis, as seen in the x-ray below, but Dr. Pete is still not that worried.  He said that we will continue to monitor it and take lateral x-rays each time she has x-rays.  However, in most cases, the spondylolisthesis does not worsen for people, so it likely will not for Savanna either.

Therefore, we will continue on as we have been, and we will see Dr. Pete again in 6 months!  It turns out that the reason we went back in 3 months this time was because Dr. Pete wanted to do another x-ray sooner than 6 months, just because of the poor x-ray last time.  However, at least for the near future, we will likely stay on a 6-month check up schedule, unless anything concerning pops up along the way.  I do worry a little about her curve possibly returning during the rapid growth phase of adolescence, as I have seen it happen in other scoli kids we know.  I asked Dr. Pete about this, and he said that maybe 10-15% of his "infantile scoliosis" kids have a curve return in adolescence, and because of their history, he may want to put them back in a brace.  However, he also said that adolescent scoliosis is not necessarily related to infantile scoliosis.  

So, I will try to stop borrowing trouble with those worries, and I will instead focus on the AWESOME x-ray from this visit!  6 degrees!  Woot woot!!

That's all for now!  Thanks for reading, and I will post again after her next check up in March 2023.  

Happy Summer Solstice!

Happy Summer Solstice!

School's out and summer is IN!  Savanna recently had her 6-month check up with Dr. Pete, but before I get into that, we need a little 6-month recap of her latest adventures.

Recent Adventures:

Christmas Eve dinner (outdoors!) with friends

Christmas Day

After Christmas beach trip to see cousins

Later sk8rs!

January was snow much fun!

Practice makes perfect

Soccer kids

Battle of the Books!

Grandma comes for a visit

Playing Dungeons & Dragons after school

Camping with friends

Popsicles with friends

Trying Bubble/Boba tea for the first time 

Fiddlin' gig at the Fiddlin' 5K

Someone just turned 10 (!!) and celebrated with a mock sleepover

Visit from the grandparents

Family photo moment

June beach trip with cousins

Shriners Update

Communication in February 2022:

As I mentioned in my last post, I was starting to become worried that Savanna was developing lordosis due to her wearing of the brace at night.  Dr. Pete thought she looked within the realm of normal from his exam, but he did not do a lateral x-ray at that time.  However, I was still worried that the lordosis might get worse.  So, I started looking back through her curve numbers.  Here are Savanna's measurements over the last few years:

• Feb. 2018 - 16°
• (June 2018 - First night-time only brace)
• Nov. 2018 - 10-14°
• May 2019 - 8°
• Nov. 2019 - 12°
• May 2020 - 8°
• Nov. 2020 - 9-10°
• June 2021 - 8.61°
• (June 2021 - Second night-time only brace)
• Dec. 2021 - 6.76°

Because she had been holding steady under 10 degrees for approximately 2 years, and I was increasingly worried about the possibility of lordosis, in February I asked Dr. Pete if she could discontinue wearing the Providence brace at night.  Change is scary, especially when in comes to your kid's medical care, but I felt it would be okay to try.  Also, we knew we would be going back to Shriners in June for her check up, so this felt like a good 4-month brace-free trial.  Savanna was super excited to "not be so hot" while sleeping, and like the good patient she is, she understood that she may have to start wearing the brace again if her curve worsens.  Dr. Pete also agreed to get a lateral x-ray of her in June to assess the potential for lordosis.

So, as of February 2, 2022, she has not been wearing a brace (or cast) for the first time since she was 19 months old - EIGHT YEARS AGO!  Whoa.

Shriners Visit in June 2022:

We traveled to Shriners in June for Savanna's 6-month check up.  This time she got both a regular x-ray and a lateral x-ray.  I wish I could say that we continue to see improvement or her holding steady, but this visit was a mixed bag of sorts.  

First, her regular x-ray did not look very good at all and showed about a 17 degree curve.  However, we (the doctor, PA, and parents) all could tell she was standing a bit weird.  It looks like her hips are turned a bit, and I think she was leaning forward.  Dr. Pete did a regular exam of her, and did not see evidence of a 17 degree curve.  I suggested that we redo the x-ray that day, but he recommended just waiting until we come back in 3 months. 

Second, the lateral x-ray showed something new for us to keep an eye on.  Although the lateral x-ray did indicate a bit of lordosis, Dr. Pete still says it is in the realm of normal.  So, that's the good news.  However, apparently Savanna has spondylolisthesis (spon-duh-low-lis-THEE-sis), where one vertebra has slipped forward a bit compared to the other vertebrae.  According to Dr. Pete, hers is likely a developmental disorder and was not present at birth.  It is very common (in 18-22% of all people) and is sometimes an incidental finding when people are imaged for other reasons.  Thankfully, Dr. Pete said that she does not have to modify her sports or activities at all.

Here's a write up and image that better explains spondylolisthesis (except Savanna's was not caused by an injury):  https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/spondylolisthesis.html  

So, I am now newly worried about something else with Savanna's spine, but Dr. Pete did not seem too concerned at the moment.  Symptoms of this condition (when people have symptoms) include pain, numbness, tingling, etc.; and Savanna has never indicated any of these types of symptoms to us.  So, we will just continue to keep an eye on everything.

It took me a little while to process how I felt about all of this news, but I think I have decided that if Dr. Pete is not super worried right now, then I will try not to be either.  Also, we are going back in 3 months this time instead of 6 months.  This shortened timeframe could be because Dr. Pete would like to see if there is a change in either the regular or lateral x-ray, and maybe it could be because Savanna just turned 10.  I believe that kids are seen more often once they are starting to go through adolescence.  This is another period of rapid growth for kids, and it can be problematic for kids with scoliosis if their curves begin to progress again.

That's the update for now!  Please keep Savanna in your thoughts.  I will post an update again when we go back for her check up in September. 

Thanks for reading, and have a nice summer!