About a month ago, Megan was diagnosed with Scoliosis. I first noticed this when Megan was trying on formal dresses. You can't see it when she is standing up but when she bends over you can definetely see the curve. One shoulder blade stands up more than the other. Megans biggest complaint is that it feels like there is a knot in between her shoulder blades.
Megan was scheduled for a sports physical the beginning of February. I had her doctor look at it. Our primary doctor sent us for xrays right away. The xrays confirmed Scoliosis (see xray below). Megan cried when we were given the diagnosis. She was scared she was going to have to have surgery or have to wear a brace. She was scared that she would not be able to try-out for cheerleading. It was a bit traumatic. We just had to wait and see. We were then referred to a orthopedic specialist (
Dr. Schopler) at the
Southern California Orthopedic Institute here in town to
see what our next step was going to be.
So, today, was the appointment with the specialist. They gave Megan these beautiful, stylish, blue elastic shorts to put on. One size fits all. They even let her keep them.
She made herself at home and relaxed on the comfortable table. She was so nervous. She was shaking.
Even through the nervousness, she still had a smile.
We waited so long that she was playing on my IPAD to pass the time. :) As mom was taking pictures and Megan was telling me to stop.
Here is a picture of her xray. She has a 38 degree curve in her back. Dr. Schopler said that he wanted to do a test to see if Megan had stopped growing. That would determine what the next course of action would be. Plus, Megan got a little excited to know she was going to find out if she was going to grow over 5 feet or not. LOL
The test to determine growth involved an xray of Megan's hand. Megan is right-handed so
they took a picture of her left hand. If she still had more growing to do, the
growth plates would be glowing in the joints of her fingers on the xray. The growth starts at the
top of her fingers and goes to her wrist. They compare her xrays to xrays in a book that shows the growth of other children her age. She actually is aging a bit faster than her 15 years.
As you can see from the xray, no glowing areas in the joints which means she is DONE GROWING! Megan will stay petite! Megan wasn't happy about that.
Dr. Schopler explained to us that Megan's scoliosis will not grow bigger due to growth. So that was a good sign. He said he is not recommending a brace or surgery. He wants her to continue with
exercise and stretching. She will still be able to try-out for High School cheerleading this year. Swimming will be great for her back. He especially wants her to do Yoga. He has seen definite improvement in his patients from Yoga. He would like to see her back in her Senior year of high school for a re-evaluation. At that time, he will take another xray and see where the curvature is and at what degree. If her pain increases over the next 2 years, he would like to see her sooner.
But, for now, we continue on.......God was definetely watching over Megan.
Looks like our future will include a little mom/daughter
Yoga time!! :)
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