Purple Princess

Cast #10 is on!  Before we get into the casting business, let's review some of the other big changes Savanna has had in her life.

June Adventures...

June was Scoliosis Awareness month.

Savanna had her THIRD birthday!

Opening some presents

 New scooter!

We moved to a new house.  

Here she is enjoying naptime in her new purple room.

Hanging out with her brother.

Hanging out with mommy too!

July Adventures...

Doing tummy time with Emerson.

Storytime at the library.

Playing with "cloud dough" at a friend's.

Cast removal and bath time!

Casting Day

Because Savanna is now one of the bigger (i.e. older) kids undergoing casting, she has later and later casting times.  Today she was the 5th case of the day, so she didn't even need to be at the hospital until noon.  This was a good thing because she (and daddy and Papa Billy) could all sleep in, but the poor girl had to miss breakfast and lunch!  (This kid can get hangry too!)  

During each visit, her height and weight are measured.  She is now 35 inches tall and weighs almost 28 pounds.  Our little Pooka is growing!

Here she is in pre-op... Her seahorse made the trip today in place of Spunky.

After surgery, letting the cast dry.

All went well with the casting, and she is now sporting some cute purple smiley faces!

She did AWESOME today, especially for not being able to eat until about 3:00pm.  That's my little trooper!  (And daddy, Papa Billy, and Shriners took great care of her today.)

Her next casting day is September 24.  There's no word on how many more casts she'll need, but I expect that it will be at least a few more.  I'm not sure when we'll do another x-ray, but possibly in January when we hit 2 years of casting??  The doctor thinks she is doing great, but he tends to be pretty noncommittal when asked how much longer we have on this journey.

Thanks to everyone for your continued thoughts and prayers for our little one!

She's at 21 degrees, y'all!

May 21, 2015

Our little princess has just gotten her ninth cast!  Crazy stuff for sure.  She also had another x-ray where we got some great news... Her curve is at 21 degrees!  Before I get into that though, let's review some of Savanna's recent adventures...

Adventures

She has become a great big sister!

She has been helping to take good care of her baby brother (now 3 months old!).

She's been taking good care of her puppy too by making sure she nurses him regularly.

She started sleeping in a big girl bed!

She's had fun playing at the park and at one of our local watering holes.

Plus, she's been enjoying singing her favorite songs and going on walks.

Pre-Op Day

Savanna had her pre-op appointment yesterday, May 20, 2015, where we found out she is 36 inches tall and 27 pounds.  She is still a little lady, but the good news is that she is growing!  She is at least one or two inches taller than her last visit and at least one pound heavier.  Her growth is helping to decrease her curve.  When we started casting, she was at 52 degrees.  Yesterday, after 8 casts and 16 months of casting, she is at 21 degrees!!  Casting is working!  This is the greatest news ever.  Her doctor did not indicate any change in plans for her treatment at this point, but we have been given even more incentive to stay the course.  Yes, it means that this summer she will be very hot and sweaty, and not get to swim very often, if at all (and no real baths), but if it means that she may be cured within the next year or so, we are all for it!

Here she is "posing" for her x-ray with her bff Spunka Wunka (aka Spunky).

Here's the BEAUTIFUL 21 degree x-ray!

Here's where she started at 52 degrees.

Last bath before cast #9.

Casting Day

Casting day started early as usual with Daddy, Papa Billy, and Savanna getting on the road to Greenville at 5:30am.  Here they are in the pre-op room.

Getting ready to go back to the OR.

Cast drying after surgery.

Getting all trimmed up and petalled.

Strawberry monster!

Savanna's scoli warrior buddy Lyla got a pretty new cast too!

Happy Yellow Smiley Faces!

Next cast

We don't have her next casting date yet, but it will likely be around the end of July.

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

A new cast, new smiley faces, and a new brother... oh my!

March 5, 2015

Cast #8 is on now!

Before we get into casting day, here are a couple of videos for you to check out... One stars Savanna at about the 1 minute mark, and the other stars her doctor at Shriners.  Check them out!

Video with Savanna:
Thank you for the bears! Watch around the 1 minute mark... Savanna has the most screen time! http://youtu.be/_6rj_N7mopc

Video/Article with Savanna's awesome doctor, Dr. Pete:
Greenville Online Article and Video about Infantile Scoliosis and Casting.

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/2015/02/04/special-cast-gives-kids-scoliosis-chance-normal-life/22848957/

Savanna Adventures:
Okay, now for some Savanna adventures... I would say that her biggest adventure during this cast was that she became a big sister!  Her brother Emerson Reilly was born on February 18, 2015, at 10:04am.  He was a big boy at 9 lb, 13 oz!!  We are all doing great, and Savanna is already being such a big helper.  She always wants to give "baby Emerson" a kiss, a hug, and a bottle.  What a good big sister!  When she met Emerson in the hospital, the first thing she said was, "He came out of mama's belly!"  What a smart cookie she is.  :-)

Dressing up in her Minnie dress, fairy wings, and flower hat.  How pretty!

Hanging out with Emerson 

Baby Emerson! 

When she crashes, she crashes hard!

Cast Removal:

Grandpa Tom and Grandma Kathy helped remove Cast #7 and gave Savanna a much needed and much loved bath.

Casting Day:

I could not go to this casting day because of our new little baby, but Savanna's daddy and granddaddy "Papa Billy" took her.  Grandma Lou Lou hung out with me and Emerson for the day.  It hurt my heart to not be with her that day, but I knew she was in good hands.  Apparently Savanna has grown by one inch and one pound since her last check 2 months ago!  This is awesome news!  Growing while in the cast is the only way the casting will help to cure her.  We are planning to do an xray next time, so we will have another snapshot of her progress.

The day started early as usual, with the three of them leaving here at 5:30am.  They arrived at Shriners at 7:00am for Savanna's pre-op appointment.  Then they waited to be taken back for her surgery.  She was the third case of the day, so she did not go back to the OR until around 10:15am.  

Picking out a toy in pre-op

Daddy getting ready to take Savanna back to the OR

Post-casting goldfish eating

Savanna hanging with her sweet casting buddy Lyla!

Getting "petalled" in the casting-trimming room.  Notice her cool boots!  Also, Spunky (her dog) is there to provide comfort.

Blue smiley faces!  (I'm so glad they had the blue smiley faces available.  Savanna had requested them several times since her last visit to Shriners!)

Beautiful little lady with her wonderful daddy!

Thanks for checking out this blog post!  We are all doing really well!  Savanna's next cast is scheduled for May 21, 2015.  Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts!