Greetings!

[Guest guest]

Hi, my name is . I'm new to the group. Looking forward to learning from

everyone. I just love bath and body products. Figured I better learn how

since I have a teenage daughter, that loves the stuff, too. I'm also from

Oklahoma.

Take care and God Bless.

[Guest guest]

Hi Alana! I was wondering when you'd join this list.

[Guest guest]

Hi !

Wow! So many questions about independent living! What an exciting time

for you! We should prolly talk on the phone about details, so contact me

off-list with your number. But in general I can tell you this. I have a

house mate and we split everything including chores. In an emergency, if

he's here he's happy to help, just like if he's sick I'll run errands or

cook for him. We keep it balanced and he doesn't do any care. If he's not

here, I have a phone beside me that doesn't require electricity...and my

phone numbers are memorized. If there's an earthquake I have 7 neighbors

within 3 blocks who will check on me and know how to get into my house and

evacuate me. My boyfriend stays over once or twice a week as do I at his

house.

As for benefits and work, I have been on SSI since I was 16. I am still on

it and earn around $35k. My SSI amount went down to $0, but I keep my

Medi-Cal which keeps my IHSS fully in place. I receive the max of 283

hrs/mo. You prolly can too.

Below is a handout I wrote. I hope it helps you and anyone else on the

list. I look forward to hearing from you!

Alana

Rules for Folks on SSI and Working

There is a formula that SSA uses for SSI recipients with additional income

from employment. Please note that there are different rules for blind or

self-employed beneficiaries. There are also different rules for SSI

recipients with unearned income such as SSDI, alimony, etc.

THE SSI WORK INCENTIVE FORMULA

- The 1st $85.00 you earn in a month doesn't count against your SSI.

- After that, for every dollar you earn, half ($.50) is deducted from your

SSI. The other half you keep.

- SSA uses your GROSS income (before taxes and deductions) when making

these calculations.

For example:

If in July you earn $800 gross, and if your monthly SSI is $780, and if you

report your income by August 10th:

$800.00 (gross earned income)

- $85.00 (allowable earned income)

--------

$715.00 divided by 2 = $357.50 (countable income)

So, you keep $85.00, and you keep $357.50, and SSA reduces your September

SSI by $357.50 (July's countable income) paying you $422.50 in Sept.

IMPAIRMENT RELATED WORK EXPENSES (IRWE's)

You may deduct the cost of out-of-pocket expenses that relate to your

disability AND work.

Examples:

Acupuncture to manage pain

Adaptive software or equipment to use at work

Vitamin supplements

Prescription co-payments

PAS not covered by another source but required for work

Transportation in a modified vehicle

There is not a standard list of deductions allowed. They are determined on

an individual basis. One may be required to provide justification from a

medical practitioner.

THE SSI WORK INCENTIVE FORMULA w/IRWE's

If in July you earn $800 gross, and if your monthly SSI is $780, and if you

report your income by August 10th, and you spend $100 on IRWE's:

$800.00 (gross earned income)

- $85.00 (allowable earned income)

--------

$715.00

-$100.00 (IRWE's)

--------

$615.00 divided by 2 = $307.50 (countable income)

So, you keep $85.00, and you keep $307.50, and SSA reduces your September

SSI by $307.50 (July's countable income) paying you $472.50 in Sept.

REPORTING INCOME

- Reporting your income in writing is required. Mail or bring in original

pay stubs and original receipts for IRWE's. SSA will make copies and

return the originals to you. No matter what anyone tells you, it is NOT

possible to officially report your income over the phone.

- You should report your income by the 10th day of the following month in

which you earned money. It doesn't count WHEN you WORKED...It counts WHEN

you were PAID. Ex: If you work all February and get paid on March 1st,

it's March income to be reported by April 10th. Get paid on July 12th &

26th, report your income to SSA by August 9th, and your September SSI check

will be reduced accordingly.

MEDICAID (MEDI-CAL IN CALIFORNIA) & IHSS

If your earnings are high enough for the formula to make your SSI payments

go down to $0.00, you are automatically put into a category called

1619b. This is a section of the Social Security Act that maintains your

Medicaid eligibility if your earnings and any other existing insurance

cannot support your medical needs.

Example:

I earn $2,200.00/mo. gross. I have medical insurance through my employer,

but it doesn't cover my in-home care. My Medicaid eligibility keeps me

eligible for IHSS that pays $2,688.50/mo. for in-home care that I could

never afford. I only have to keep reporting my income every month to SSA.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

SSA is like Mc's. Mc's makes the same thing every day over and

over with few errors. If you ask them to hold the pickle, many things will

likely go wrong. SSA sends the right checks to the right people every

month bigger and better than anyone in the world. They define disability

as an inability to work. When you work you are contradicting the SSA

definition, hence, you're messing with a big machine. It's like you're

telling SSA to hold the pickle, and many things will likely go wrong. KEEP

all your paperwork! There is no statute of limitations on SSA looking back

and questioning earning and SSI payments.

It's best to either have stable income so the future reduction in SSI

doesn't hurt, or to set your earnings aside 'til the month your SSI goes down.

Most of this info. is in the Social Security Red Book of Work

Incentives. You can get is at you SSA office or on line at

www.ssa.gov. Be sure to get the 2002 version. 2003 is not out yet.

[Guest guest]

--- Hi there melissa! welcome to the board. and guess what..I am on

my third challenge and started about where you were at. I don't know

what I weigh right now..because scales don't show true weight loss on

this program. I just wanted to warn you that. you may try not to

weigh your self because you are gonna put on some muscle. if you can

just go by body fat and pictures that is much better. I do know I

started at a size 20 and am at a 16 almost 14 now. I should be 14 by

the end of the month or almost there. that gives me three weeks to

get to that..lol. that is with 3 challenges..this is my third and I

am on week 9.

I think if I were you maybe you could try to get up say at like 6 am

and have a meal..then do not eat till after your workout. I know this

is a tough one cause with the cardio I have found it works best for

me to do it on an empty stomach. you get the best results that

way.but I think you could try and experiment with the 6 am thing. can

you go any earlier at all? I don't know..there may be someone on here

who has had better experiance with doing cardio this way. with

weights..if at first you can do them without eating first that would

be best. it works the best that way at first. I am to the point now

where sometimes i have to eat before weight training. this has just

been what works the best with me..I don't know any other way..so I

have not been much help to you. but even for now..just getting there

to the gym is most important. welcome here! I did not help much

either? but I did want to respond to you..lol.

Kathi

In , mknight5368

<no_reply@y...> wrote:

> Hello Ladies,I started BFL on monday of this week. Just wanted to

> introduce myself.I've enjoyed reading thru the posts, and hope I'll

> be able to contribute some encouragement.I need some advice.If you

> can't workout first thing, should you go ahead and eat breakfast

> before you workout? I don't get to the gym until 8:30. I am usually

> finished by 10, 10:15. Should I wait till then, or have something

> about 7, and then a snack at 10:30? My starting weight is 247, so I

> have a lot of fat to lose. Thanks,

[Guest guest]

I am by no means an expect on this but I do know from my own experience that

I could never go until 10:30. I tried several times to even do a workout at

all without eating first and almost quit BFL because I felt nauseous, got a

massive headache and almost passed out twice. I tend to run a low blood

sugar anyway and I just can't do a workout without eating first. I agree

with the eating early then doing your workout.

Angie

gardening does count as a workout, right?

[Guest guest]

-

I'm and I'm in week 10 of my first challenge. I've not done it

perfectly, but even at that I've gotten awesome results. This is the only plan

I've ever adopted as a way of life, and by week 5/6 the inches just started to

melt away on me. As you'll see in this group as you watch the e-mails fly,

weight is not the #1 way to measure your success on this plan. Go ahead and

take your measurements and get your body fat % done. I've only lost about 7-8

pounds in 10 weeks, but lost several inches in the places where I've wanted to

lose them and I've lost about 8-10% body fat.

Anyhow - I would go ahead and eat something first thing if you can't work out

first thing - like you said around 7am, then have a snack mid morning after your

workout. A shake would probably be good at that time.

Good luck!

http://qwesteferral.com/r.jsp?a=Fmu9DBSgHpRfVU541Lz2HA$$ & x

Greetings!

Hello Ladies,I started BFL on monday of this week. Just wanted to

introduce myself.I've enjoyed reading thru the posts, and hope I'll

be able to contribute some encouragement.I need some advice.If you

can't workout first thing, should you go ahead and eat breakfast

before you workout? I don't get to the gym until 8:30. I am usually

finished by 10, 10:15. Should I wait till then, or have something

about 7, and then a snack at 10:30? My starting weight is 247, so I

have a lot of fat to lose. Thanks,

[Guest guest]

Welcome and you might have to experiment. I have been doing BFL

since March. Personally, I workout in the a.m. after 16 oz of water

and 2 cups of coffee. I must do weights that way, if I eat I will

feel nauseous because I really work hard to hit those 10's and even

9's make me feel sick sometimes (Sick in agoodway, of course. >

I have done cardio in the evening about 1-1/2 hurs after my last meal

and then I wait an hour before my next. The important thing is to

get the workout in. You can have results with eating a meal before

and some poeple feel they need a meal. Try different ways.

Bridgette

> Hello Ladies,I started BFL on monday of this week. Just wanted to

> introduce myself.I've enjoyed reading thru the posts, and hope I'll

> be able to contribute some encouragement.I need some advice.If you

> can't workout first thing, should you go ahead and eat breakfast

> before you workout? I don't get to the gym until 8:30. I am usually

> finished by 10, 10:15. Should I wait till then, or have something

> about 7, and then a snack at 10:30? My starting weight is 247, so I

> have a lot of fat to lose. Thanks,

[Guest guest]

Thanks Kathi. You are on your third challenge? Congrats for sticking

with it so long. I am just hoping I can make it thru one. I am not

really a breakfast person, so this week I have not been eating until

I finish my workout, which is around 10am. But that is a late start

which makes it hard to get in six meals. And I think I saw somewhere

that you are supossed to wait an hour after your workout to eat?That

would be even later. what to do, what to do.

> > Hello Ladies,I started BFL on monday of this week. Just wanted to

> > introduce myself.I've enjoyed reading thru the posts, and hope

I'll

> > be able to contribute some encouragement.I need some advice.If

you

> > can't workout first thing, should you go ahead and eat breakfast

> > before you workout? I don't get to the gym until 8:30. I am

usually

> > finished by 10, 10:15. Should I wait till then, or have something

> > about 7, and then a snack at 10:30? My starting weight is 247, so

I

> > have a lot of fat to lose. Thanks,

[Guest guest]

Umm...I think the book says to eat 'within' an hour. So you don't have to

wait. Of course, on cardio days I'm so totally huffing and puffing that I

would probably drown if I tried to drink my shake right away. So I wait

until after my shower.

Su the Hobbit

Re: Greetings!

> Thanks Kathi. You are on your third challenge? Congrats for sticking

> with it so long. I am just hoping I can make it thru one. I am not

> really a breakfast person, so this week I have not been eating until

> I finish my workout, which is around 10am. But that is a late start

> which makes it hard to get in six meals. And I think I saw somewhere

> that you are supossed to wait an hour after your workout to eat?That

> would be even later. what to do, what to do.

>

>

>

> > > Hello Ladies,I started BFL on monday of this week. Just wanted to

> > > introduce myself.I've enjoyed reading thru the posts, and hope

> I'll

> > > be able to contribute some encouragement.I need some advice.If

> you

> > > can't workout first thing, should you go ahead and eat breakfast

> > > before you workout? I don't get to the gym until 8:30. I am

> usually

> > > finished by 10, 10:15. Should I wait till then, or have something

> > > about 7, and then a snack at 10:30? My starting weight is 247, so

> I

> > > have a lot of fat to lose. Thanks,

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi . I had my bodyfat done today. 42.96%!!!! My body is

almost half fat! I cried on the way home. I don't even know how my

body is functioning. Congratulations on your GREAT results! I am

hoping to achieve the same.

> -

>

> I'm and I'm in week 10 of my first challenge. I've not

done it perfectly, but even at that I've gotten awesome results.

This is the only plan I've ever adopted as a way of life, and by week

5/6 the inches just started to melt away on me. As you'll see in

this group as you watch the e-mails fly, weight is not the #1 way to

measure your success on this plan. Go ahead and take your

measurements and get your body fat % done. I've only lost about 7-8

pounds in 10 weeks, but lost several inches in the places where I've

wanted to lose them and I've lost about 8-10% body fat.

>

> Anyhow - I would go ahead and eat something first thing if you

can't work out first thing - like you said around 7am, then have a

snack mid morning after your workout. A shake would probably be good

at that time.

>

> Good luck!

>

>

> http://qwesteferral.com/r.jsp?a=Fmu9DBSgHpRfVU541Lz2HA$$ & x

> Greetings!

>

>

> Hello Ladies,I started BFL on monday of this week. Just wanted to

> introduce myself.I've enjoyed reading thru the posts, and hope

I'll

> be able to contribute some encouragement.I need some advice.If

you

> can't workout first thing, should you go ahead and eat breakfast

> before you workout? I don't get to the gym until 8:30. I am

usually

> finished by 10, 10:15. Should I wait till then, or have something

> about 7, and then a snack at 10:30? My starting weight is 247, so

I

> have a lot of fat to lose. Thanks,

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I'm so happy you enjoyed the story. I've seen it before, but I think it's

something that we do need to be reminded of, every so often.

I'm waiting to hear what your stats are tomorrow. You're doing so great!!!

Kiki

[Guest guest]

Merry Christmas!!

[Guest guest]

Thank you Dear for your positive message. It is always so great to hear

from you.

Many blessings back to you.

Be Healthy and take good care,

Rashelle

Harness the Powerful Benefits of Oxygen with LifeLift.

Oxygen burns fat, tones muscles, reduces stress

Be healthier with each breath you take with LifeLift

www.oxygenlift.net. LifeLift is the Original Aerobic Breathing

Re: Greetings! Long post!

Thank You for such a wonderful post! I am so glad you joined us, you are a

breath of fresh air. What tapes are you doing? I have the original and #1

and the wonderful reflexology. Looking forward to chatting with you.

Connie :-)

[Guest guest]

Same to you sweet rashelle

Miss everyone just has been very hectic!

Lifelift helps so much especially when it is crazy .

Blessings to all talk soon and hope everyone has a wonderful special holiday!

R

Re: Greetings! Long post!

Thank You for such a wonderful post! I am so glad you joined us, you are

a

breath of fresh air. What tapes are you doing? I have the original and

#1

and the wonderful reflexology. Looking forward to chatting with you.

Connie :-)

[Guest guest]

Yes, ,

You are so right. It helps us keeps calm when all around us is a little crazy.

Hugs,

Rashelle

Re: Greetings! Long post!

Thank You for such a wonderful post! I am so glad you joined us, you

are a

breath of fresh air. What tapes are you doing? I have the original and

#1

and the wonderful reflexology. Looking forward to chatting with you.

Connie :-)

[Guest guest]

Amen

Blessings and hugs

R

Re: Greetings! Long post!

Thank You for such a wonderful post! I am so glad you joined us, you

are a

breath of fresh air. What tapes are you doing? I have the original

and #1

and the wonderful reflexology. Looking forward to chatting with you.

Connie :-)

[Guest guest]

Welcome Kirstie! There is a handful of us here that live in the Rochester

area. Myself I live in Ontario, just east of Webster. Where abouts are

you?

Hope you enjoy this list!

Shaye

Greetings!

Hello to all! This is my first post so I thought I should introduce

myself!

I live in the Rochester area and would hope to eventually meet some of

you who are also out this way!

I have only recently started making soaps...just for fun and for

things to sniff! My hope is to learn lots from all the folks here.

Kirstie

[Guest guest]

Thanks Shaye!

I am in Henrietta...just a hop, skip and a jump away!

>

> Welcome Kirstie! There is a handful of us here that live in the

Rochester

> area. Myself I live in Ontario, just east of Webster. Where abouts

are

> you?

>

> Hope you enjoy this list!

> Shaye

>

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 6/29/2006 9:47:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

kermit13166@... writes:

Hello to all! This is my first post so I thought I should introduce

myself!

I live in the Rochester area and would hope to eventually meet some of

you who are also out this way!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome, Kirstie, from a fellow Rochestarian. :-) I'm sure you'll learn a

lot here.

Beth

_www.soapandgarden.com_ (http://www.soapandgarden.com/)

www.saponifier.com

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 6/30/2006 12:15:37 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,

kermit13166@... writes:

I am in Henrietta...just a hop, skip and a jump away!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey Kirstie, I'm in Henrietta too!

Beth

_www.soapandgarden.com_ (http://www.soapandgarden.com/)

www.saponifier.com

[Guest guest]

Welcome Kim!

> I had no idea there was a " prejudice against soapers " among perfumers until I

read Anya's recent blog posting. It would be interesting to know what

> that was based on/where it came from? Maybe the prevalence of MP and synths in

home soap making?

I can't speak for others but I would guess that might be it. I'm on another list

for making bath products and one new member is using MP stuff from

's and selling it as homemade, which I guess it technically is but I

don't think of that is real homemade. Luckily, she tests what she makes on

herself because she had a recent disaster with some fragrance she bought at a

craft store. It was labeled that it was OK for candle and bath product

scenting but further investigation showed that they really didn't suggest it for

bath products except in very small amounts.

It comes back to the same things -- doing research into what you're buying and

who you're buying it from. People can claim all sorts of stuff and that

don't make it so, and sometimes they're just passing on bad information

unknowingly.

You'll learn a lot here. Enjoy!

Beth

--

" Don't be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality. If you can dream

it, you can make it so. " - Belva

" It's kind of fun to do the impossible. " -- Walt Disney

" Live every day as if it were your last, because one of these days, it will be. "

-- Schwartz

" If you can DREAM it, you CAN do it. Always remember, this whole thing was

started by a mouse. " -- Walt Disney

" You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it come

true. You may have to work for it, however. " -- From Illusions by

Bach

Clicking on http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com helps abandoned and abused

animals at no cost to you.

ComicSutra http://www.comicsutra.com http://www.elizabethmorgan.net

[Guest guest]

At 02:58 PM 12/13/2006, you wrote:

>Welcome Kim!

>

> > I had no idea there was a " prejudice against soapers " among

> perfumers until I read Anya's recent blog posting. It would be

> interesting to know what

> > that was based on/where it came from? Maybe the prevalence of MP

> and synths in home soap making?

Hi Beth, Kim

Don't blame the perfumers alone -- others in the natural industry are

guilty, too, ;-) Let's put it this way: soapers use the best oils and

waxes and put so much time and effort into creating a gorgeous soap

and then (to those who love natural aromatics) put a fragrance oil

into it. Blasphemy! (joking here, folks) They'd just love to see

natural soap scented with natural aromatics, and we know this can be

a bit demanding and pricey, but we welcome all soapers, we'll just

keep trying to convert them like a Sunday School teacher!

Anya McCoy

Anya's Garden of Natural Perfume http://anyasgarden.com

Artisan Natural Perfumers Guild http://artisannaturalperfumers.org

Natural Perfumers Community Group

/

[Guest guest]

edited to correct topposting:

>

> >Welcome Kim!

> >

> > > I had no idea there was a " prejudice against soapers " among

> > perfumers until I read Anya's recent blog posting.

> Hi Beth, Kim

>

> Don't blame the perfumers alone -- others in the natural industry

are

> guilty, too, ;-) Let's put it this way: soapers use the best oils

and

> waxes and put so much time and effort into creating a gorgeous soap

> and then (to those who love natural aromatics) put a fragrance oil

> into it. Blasphemy! (joking here, folks) They'd just love to see

> natural soap scented with natural aromatics

Hi Anya,

What a great list you have here! This is my first 'reply' ever in a

group. I've joined a few boards, but could never find my

note again, or how to find anyone else's notes. I will try to poke

around more and figure it out, but if I make a faux pas, please let

me know.

I just wanted to note that there are plenty of soapers who use

natural EO in soaps, I have a line of all natural EO soaps, and many

many soapers do as well. The major reason you see so many fragrance

oils is, as pointed out, the cost. Some EO are too expensive to use,

though I've known several soapers who have soaped Roman Chammomile

and Sandalwood (but not for sale).

Beyond cost, there's issues of stability. Some EO's just don't have

the flash points to withstand the saponification process, or would

actually chemically change scent in the soap. For example, there's no

way to make sweet orange EO stick. It's one of the cheapest essential

oils, but it simply doesn't survive, due to saponification or the

high alkaline pH of the process, and the slightly lower alkalinity of

the finished soap (all the citrus have a high acid content that would

neutralize... and it takes the scent with it).

Many other EO's just aren't chemically stable enough. Some 'changes'

are actually for the better, for example, in using a cheaper grade

lavender, soapmaking actually takes the stinky 'edge' off, giving you

a smoother, mellower lavender than the original EO in the bottle.

Also, there's no way to make soaps in certain scents. For example,

there's simply no fruit and very few flowers that aren't

prohibitively priced that you could use in soap. There are many

people who sub palmarosa or geranium EO for rose, and that's very

effective in a soap blend. But you can't get hyacinth, lilac, lily of

the valley or even violet in an EO anymore, if you ever could (used

to be able to get violet).

Which leads me to a question for you... when you are blending for

perfumes, is there a trick to getting true florals? Without using

fragrance oils, how does a natural perfumer blend for the very light

ozony (oxygen, rain) type of scents? These would be a requirement

for 'light' scents such as honeysuckle, lily of the valley. Is there

a way to create that without using chemical FO's?

I've seen people say that they can create carnation by blending black

pepper with ylang. Er... no you can't:P. How do you achieve those

notes using only EO's? Thank you!

[Guest guest]

Welcome Matt and Angie!

You've definitely taken the right steps in setting up an appointment with

Shriners. My son, Ian, is also treated by Dr. Khoury and we think he is just

fantastic. I think you will really like him. He's great about explaining

things & answering any questions you might have - very down to Earth. Ian also

started his treatment around the same age as your son and we've had great

results. Ian's story is on the ISOP website if you are interested in checking

it out. http://www.infantilescoliosis.org/ians_story.htm

Good luck in February. I am sure you are anxious to get there and that February

can't get here soon enough! Keep us posted and let us know how you make out

next month.

Noelle (12-2-01)

Ian (8-15-04)

Greetings!

Hey folks - we are new to this group and are really glad to meet you all. Our

names are Matt and Angie. We are the parents of Ethan (17 months) and we just

found out that he has progressive infantile scoliosis. We found ISOP and talked

with and feel very blessed to have found this foundation. It's awesome

all the information that you guys have been able to share!

Here's Ethan's story:

We had x-rays taken of Ethan at 8 months old because he had gotten

bronchiolitis. The x-rays clearly showed the curvature in his spine but

unfortunately we were never told about it or shown the x-rays. A couple months

ago (Ethan was 15 months at this point) we noticed that he had a slump to his

left side (looked like his right side was more muscular.) We talked to his

pediatrician who referred us to an orthopedic surgeon who told us there was a

serious problem and that he would have to be put in a brace until his mid to

late teens and that bracing wasn't corrective (ie: this problem would NEVER go

away.) It was just to slow down the curve until he was finished growing and

could receive surgery. This freaked us out!!!

We left on vacation for Christmas (as the surgeon had told us there was

nothing we could do, yet) and sat on that little jewel of information for about

3 weeks. When we got back, we had the x-rays taken which showed a progression to

about 30+ degrees (which we realize now is manageable.) We got in touch with

with ISOP the day after the x-rays and called us back the following day

with great information! We have since talked to more people and read a lot of

posts which comfort us more and more. We are now more stoked than afraid, cause

there is a good possibility that we can actually get this corrected before he

gets too old, thanks to all of your help!

Even tho we live in California and are closer to SLC, we've got an appointment

lined up with Dr. Courey in Erie because they can see us sooner (early February)

and hopefully we can start the casting as soon as possible at that time. We will

keep you all posted with treatment and everything else.

We'll post some pics of Ethan, but we don't have too many good pictures of his

back yet cause the kid is always on the move

Thanks!

Matt and Angie

[Guest guest]

jennifer,

thanks for posting that ian's story was on the isop website. i hadn't realized

so many had been added or updated. it's great to read everyone's good results

with casting!

deshea

---- Original message ----

>Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2007 08:38:03 -0500

>From: " Claflin " <noellesmommy@...>

>Subject: Re: Greetings!

><infantile scoliosis treatment >

>

> Welcome Matt and Angie!

>

> You've definitely taken the right steps in setting

> up an appointment with Shriners. My son, Ian, is

> also treated by Dr. Khoury and we think he is just

> fantastic. I think you will really like him. He's

> great about explaining things & answering any

> questions you might have - very down to Earth. Ian

> also started his treatment around the same age as

> your son and we've had great results. Ian's story is

> on the ISOP website if you are interested in

> checking it out.

> http://www.infantilescoliosis.org/ians_story.htm

>

> Good luck in February. I am sure you are anxious to

> get there and that February can't get here soon

> enough! Keep us posted and let us know how you make

> out next month.

>

>

> Noelle (12-2-01)

> Ian (8-15-04)

> Greetings!

>

> Hey folks - we are new to this group and are really

> glad to meet you all. Our names are Matt and Angie.

> We are the parents of Ethan (17 months) and we just

> found out that he has progressive infantile

> scoliosis. We found ISOP and talked with and

> feel very blessed to have found this foundation.

> It's awesome all the information that you guys have

> been able to share!

>

> Here's Ethan's story:

>

> We had x-rays taken of Ethan at 8 months old because

> he had gotten bronchiolitis. The x-rays clearly

> showed the curvature in his spine but unfortunately

> we were never told about it or shown the x-rays. A

> couple months ago (Ethan was 15 months at this

> point) we noticed that he had a slump to his left

> side (looked like his right side was more muscular.)

> We talked to his pediatrician who referred us to an

> orthopedic surgeon who told us there was a serious

> problem and that he would have to be put in a brace

> until his mid to late teens and that bracing wasn't

> corrective (ie: this problem would NEVER go away.)

> It was just to slow down the curve until he was

> finished growing and could receive surgery. This

> freaked us out!!!

>

> We left on vacation for Christmas (as the surgeon

> had told us there was nothing we could do, yet) and

> sat on that little jewel of information for about 3

> weeks. When we got back, we had the x-rays taken

> which showed a progression to about 30+ degrees

> (which we realize now is manageable.) We got in

> touch with with ISOP the day after the x-rays and

> called us back the following day with great

> information! We have since talked to more people and

> read a lot of posts which comfort us more and more.

> We are now more stoked than afraid, cause there is a

> good possibility that we can actually get this

> corrected before he gets too old, thanks to all of

> your help!

>

> Even tho we live in California and are closer to

> SLC, we've got an appointment lined up with Dr.

> Courey in Erie because they can see us sooner (early

> February) and hopefully we can start the casting as

> soon as possible at that time. We will keep you all

> posted with treatment and everything else.

>

> We'll post some pics of Ethan, but we don't have too

> many good pictures of his back yet cause the kid is

> always on the move

>

> Thanks!

>

> Matt and Angie

>

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>

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>

>