The letter "S"

I am a huge fan of the letter "S". It's a fun letter to write and a few of my favorite words begin with this letter. "Sleep"..."Sweet Snacks"... "Slushie" ..."Sun shine"and "Sight Seeing." However, one reference I was NOT a fan of was the description of Molly's scoliosis by her Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon as he looked at her x-rays and stated "Your daughters spine is shaped like an S."

Those words were first spoken to me on Molly's 4th birthday, nearly one week to the day before our sweet ~Emily Hope~ was born. Molly was diagnosed with Scoliosis at a very young age and while we have been following up with Dr Schrader at Akron Childrens Hospital for over seven years now, her scoliosis had seemed to be a relatively insignificant factor in our lives - that was, until June.

Molly's semi-annual checkup was due and it was (quite honestly) a great opportunity for the two of us to spend a peaceful day together and take a little road trip to Akron. I loathe going to Akron... I must mentally prepare myself for the trip, as the drive fills me with a dread you can not imagine. No matter how hard I try, I inevitably recall the painfully long ride home from Akron on the evening of August 30th 2003 *without* my newborn daughter Emily. In spite of that, I take comfort in what I know will be the wonderful words I simply love to hear, when Dr. Schrader always says "Molly looks great - no change. We don't even need X-rays... we'll see you in 6 months!" Those words make the trip worthwhile...THOSE words give me the strength to make the next drive. However, in June, I did not hear those words. Instead I heard "Oh My... Molly, are you standing perfectly straight?... We will need an X-ray right away." They were followed by a very concerned surgeon walking back into our room with an obviously disfigured spine on the x-ray film and saying "I have never seen this in my 26 years of practicing medicine... she went from 17 to a 23 degree curvature of her spine in 6 months." The words that followed were some what jumbled, but I recall hearing him say "back brace...Catastrophic... surgery....." I know there were other phrases spoken after "Catastrophic" and "Surgery" but I couldn't tell you what they were. My heart stopped and I immediately had visions of another one of my precious daughters, strugling to regain quality of life at Akron Childrens Hospital. This was one of my darkest days in several years.

For four months, Molly has faithfully been wearing a back brace for 8-10 hours a day. She mostly wears it at night because she can't really stand or sit with it on. It holds her back at a negative 28 degree angle, so as to straighten out her "S" shaped spine. The best description I can give of this device is that it liike like a midevil torture instrument. Quite honeslty, Molly nearly drags her right arm on the ground if she tries to wear it and walk. I feel just awful for her as I see her struggle with this brace, lugging it around and asking of she REALLY has to wear it during her sleepover in front of her friends. I'm "that mom"... you know, the responsible one who always says "Yes... and your head gear too."

Today, the torture paid off. Molly went to see Dr. Schrader again this morning and received excellent news. Once again, her spine has not changed. While it is still a 23 degree curve, it WILL change with the -28 degree correction. He said he feels that we have accomplished what we need to, to ward off surgery. THAT is the biggest hurdle. Molls will continue to wear her nasty brace every day... adjustments will be made.... she MAY even end up wearing it during the day sometimes; but it appears we have magaged to avoid the part where we have to place a rod in her spine and that is all that matters.

...We are ALL in a profoundly good mood today.