A New Chapter in Emma's Spine Story

Wow! I haven't had anything to add to Emma's blog since April of last year. I guess that is a good thing as the Lord and kept and preserved Emma as she has enjoyed life being 11 and has been actively training her new dog for agility! She loves her puppy Penny and she has been a source of activity and pleasure for Emma.

The last time we saw Emma's Dr. was in July and he said that things were steady and holding so I didn't really have any new news to share.

Yesterday was Emma's 6 month check up with the surgeon. When we arrived she had her normal xrays and then we waited to see the surgeon. We weren't really sure which of the two Dr's she would see but the surgeon who actully did her surgery came in to see her. Emma was happy about that because she likes him better than the other Dr. He just seems to have a nicer bed side manner which makes him a little easier to talk to. (I think Emma has a little crush on him too)

He carefully examined her xrays as ususal and was taking longer than he regularly does comparing xrays from April, July and now. (Emma and I both knew what was coming) He said then that her upper scoliosis curve is now 57 degrees and the lower curve is 37. This progression is not untypical (is that a word?) and they were expecting it to continue to worsen. He told that us that she is now within the surgical range for her scoliosis but they still want to wait a while before doing anything because she is still so short and they want to give her more opportunity to grow. He is quite confident that he can straighten out her top curve almost completly the way it is now but doesn't want to wait until her last growth spurt because he thinks she will be so crooked then. However, he is still concerned about Emma's "hinge" as we affectionately call it. There is way too much motion in her vertebra between the fusion that they did in Nov. of 08 from C1 to C4 and a natural fusion that she has at between C5 and C6. So, there is a "hinge" between C4 and C5. That hinge has put her spinal chord at risk since her last surgery which we did know. The Dr. however feels that we have waited long enough on this and no longer thinks that we should wait to combine it with her scoliosis surgery. He is still concerned about her losing function in her arms or legs due to injury caused by the motion there. It does look quite misaligned on the xray. So he wants to add to her previous fusion by extending it now to C7 which I believe is her whole cervical spine. He did say that the surgery sould be less involved and her stay in hospital should be a little shorter and she will wear an E coller like before and not a halo. He said, "How does May look for you?" I said "That soon?" He told us that it is not an emergent case but he doesn't want to wait too long and will expedite her for whenever we think is good. I asked if we could do it in June so that she can finish school and participate in the school play. He said that he thought it should be okay but gently reminded us that he cannot guarentee that she will not have adverse affects from waiting. But, he also said that she has been stable since her last surgery so they have no reason to think that will change. So, June it is. I just have to call with the date when when Emma is finished the school play which I didn't have with me at the hospital.

He did ask me if we should go ahead or something like that once he said that he thought maybe he should extend the fusion. I told he that I didn't know and that he is the Dr. I told him that we were still doubting the last surgery while she was in the OR and didn't feel sure that we should have done it until we got the report after surgery. So, I was the wrong person to ask if we should go ahead. I asked him, "Do YOU think we should?" He said yes but, he also shared that he'll probably be driving home from work later wondering if he's made the right decision. Even the Dr.'s are human.

But, having said all that, we are trusting just as before that all things are in the hands of our great God and that he works all things out for his glory and our good. What peace and comfort that brings. Even to Emma. ( She was remarkably accepting of the information she received. She just said she knew it would come sooner or later.) I think that how she handled the news is a blessing also from God. God has kept her in a remarkable way all of her life when we didn't even know what was going on in her body. We are so thankful. So, for those of you who would like to know how you could pray, I'm sure it obvious but please pray for her continued safety over the coming months before her surgery. That her spine will remain stable and that she would not loose any function. We praise and that God for friends and family who support us in this way. Thank you all so much! I will post again when we receive a surgery date.

Love and Blessings,
The Grooms