Isabel is doing great. Her stitches came out last tuesday and the incision is healing up quickly. She complains about headaches now and again, but most of the problem has been with the muscles in her neck. Lack of moving her head has given her some painful muscle spasms. She gets worn out easy too. We had a busy day yesterday with a family christmas party and then a trip to Build A Bear Workshop. It was fun, but she was pooped and got a headache by the end of the day. I hope she will get back to normal soon. To make up for the busy day yesterday we had an inside day today. We didn't go anywhere and we didn't even get out of our pj's. She watched movies most of the day.
I have kept her hair in pigtails or her favorite, a side pony tail, to help keep her incision clean. I tried doing a low pony tail when we went our yesterday to cover it up, but she said it made it itch. I hope she will let me cover it before she goes back to school. I wonder what her reaction would be to other kids seeing it. She doesn't mind if people look at it now. But it may be different with a group of 6 year old kids and their reactions and comments. She will go back to school after the holiday break. I hope by then her incision will be completely healed.
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How it all began
Isabel is a typical healthy 6 year old. In July 2006 we went to our pediatrician for a routine 6 year old check up. I, and the doctor, were shocked to see that there appeared to be a curve in Isabel's spine. She sent us for an xray and the scoliosis was diagnosed as a 37% curvature of her t-spine. We were referred to a Pediatric Orthopedic doctor at Primay Chilren's Medical Center. He felt the sudden onset of her scoliosis warrented further investigation with an MRI of her entire spine. We were shocked to find out Isabel had a type 1 chiari malformation and an associated large syrinx. A chiari malformation is when the base of the brain, the cerebellum, protrudes down into the spinal canal. This disrupts the flow of spinal fluid causing an abnormal fluid collection in the spinal canal (syrinx). This resulted in the formation of the scoliosis. We were then referred to a Neurosurgeon. Isabel is scheduled to have surgery. The type of surgery is called a chiari decompression. This involves removing a piece of bone from the back of her skull and part of her first cervial vertabra; cutting the dura, or outer covering of the brain, and put a bovine patch in place; the projecting portion of the cerebellum will also be removed. All this is trying to create more space for the cerebellum.
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1 comment:
Good luck going back to school tomorrow. Avery had fun coming to visit you with her Grampa. She hopes to see you again soon.
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