Re: Appointment Booked!

February 1, 2011

Hey !

Speaking to another mama that is thinking about casting their infant is not common on here. A lot of the kiddos are a wee bit older and have hit a lot of thier milestones before casting was done. I was SCARED about everything! We casted Logan when he was 9 months old. We decided to go ahead...even though he was just "army crawling" not the normal crawl just yet. He learned to crawl better and he also learned to walk in the cast. Logan is now 19 months old and just surpassing every expectation I ever had. He was diagnosed at 5 months old and we were told to "wait and see" because infants can sometimes correct themselves with the crawling stage....<BIG lie!> Logan got worse...he went from 30 to 45 in ONE month. We decided to be more aggressive and go with casting. We also took EVERYTHING that helped him sit up...away. No more bumbos, walkers, jumperroo, excersaucer...they all went. We were told by another doctor....that to keep his curve from

progressing any worse until we could get to casting was MORE TUMMY TIME. That was the best advice we were given....EVER. 2 months passed and we were able to hold his curve without it getting worse. I just didnt want the casting to double because he were trying to get him to walk...

You will be surprise how well your lil one does with casting....they take to it sooooo fast. I think its just the age range of acceptance.

Logan's curve was a c-curve. By his 2nd cast he was casted at 0. (he was flexible too). We are now in our 6th cast...we are still working on rotation...but honestly...its just the details right now. We are hoping and praying that by his 2nd birthday this will be a thing of the past...but only time will tell. We will continue to cast until we see no more improvment. I consider us the VERY lucky ones to have caught our babies curves sooooo early and treatment is offered to the babies. Time is your best friend and your worst enemy in scoliosis.

The advice I would give to you is when they are trimming the cast....REMIND them....because they are not walking yet....their arms and legs are in different positions on a daily basis. They get used to kids having their arms by their side and kids legs going straight down...they forgot that babies that are learning to crawl have their arms and legs in different positions.

I hope everything goes well for you and your lil one....PLEASE ask ALL the questions to this group....they have been my support through this entire journey and really the voice of reason when NO ONE in NC knew what I was talking about when I was explaining casting.

Logan's mama (19 months old, 6th cast, 45 down to 0)

From: <j_poschmann@...>infantile scoliosis treatment Sent: Mon, January 31, 2011 5:30:59 PMSubject: Appointment Booked!

After over two months of waiting, we have finally been called and have an appt booked with Dr. Hedden in Edmonton on Feb 17th. At this point we don't know what to expect. To us it appears that Tyler's curve has gotten no better and no worse, but it's hard to tell because he is now at an age (6 months) where he has been getting stronger overall. We are not sure what the degree of his curve was at the time of the last xray or the amount of rotation (I will posting the old xray pics). If the curve has stayed the same, would any ortho recommend casting? To be honest, my husband and I both feel that if casting now could correct him for life, we are all for it. We'd rather deal with the issues of having a baby casted than be worried at every future growth spurt that it will all of the sudden start progressing. (Maybe many of you with children already in casts would disagree?)Any words of wisdom as to questions that should be asked at the appointment?

February 1, 2011

, Thanks for mentioning to say your child doesnt walk yet. I never really thought about how their arms and legs would be in a different positionSent from my iPhoneOn Feb 1, 2011, at 5:17 AM, Medlin <amanda.medlin@...> wrote:

Hey !

Speaking to another mama that is thinking about casting their infant is not common on here. A lot of the kiddos are a wee bit older and have hit a lot of thier milestones before casting was done. I was SCARED about everything! We casted Logan when he was 9 months old. We decided to go ahead...even though he was just "army crawling" not the normal crawl just yet. He learned to crawl better and he also learned to walk in the cast. Logan is now 19 months old and just surpassing every expectation I ever had. He was diagnosed at 5 months old and we were told to "wait and see" because infants can sometimes correct themselves with the crawling stage....<BIG lie!> Logan got worse...he went from 30 to 45 in ONE month. We decided to be more aggressive and go with casting. We also took EVERYTHING that helped him sit up...away. No more bumbos, walkers, jumperroo, excersaucer...they all went. We were told by another doctor....that to keep his curve from

progressing any worse until we could get to casting was MORE TUMMY TIME. That was the best advice we were given....EVER. 2 months passed and we were able to hold his curve without it getting worse. I just didnt want the casting to double because he were trying to get him to walk...

You will be surprise how well your lil one does with casting....they take to it sooooo fast. I think its just the age range of acceptance.

Logan's curve was a c-curve. By his 2nd cast he was casted at 0. (he was flexible too). We are now in our 6th cast...we are still working on rotation...but honestly...its just the details right now. We are hoping and praying that by his 2nd birthday this will be a thing of the past...but only time will tell. We will continue to cast until we see no more improvment. I consider us the VERY lucky ones to have caught our babies curves sooooo early and treatment is offered to the babies. Time is your best friend and your worst enemy in scoliosis.

The advice I would give to you is when they are trimming the cast....REMIND them....because they are not walking yet....their arms and legs are in different positions on a daily basis. They get used to kids having their arms by their side and kids legs going straight down...they forgot that babies that are learning to crawl have their arms and legs in different positions.

I hope everything goes well for you and your lil one....PLEASE ask ALL the questions to this group....they have been my support through this entire journey and really the voice of reason when NO ONE in NC knew what I was talking about when I was explaining casting.

Logan's mama (19 months old, 6th cast, 45 down to 0)

From: <j_poschmann@...>infantile scoliosis treatment Sent: Mon, January 31, 2011 5:30:59 PMSubject: Appointment Booked!

After over two months of waiting, we have finally been called and have an appt booked with Dr. Hedden in Edmonton on Feb 17th. At this point we don't know what to expect. To us it appears that Tyler's curve has gotten no better and no worse, but it's hard to tell because he is now at an age (6 months) where he has been getting stronger overall. We are not sure what the degree of his curve was at the time of the last xray or the amount of rotation (I will posting the old xray pics). If the curve has stayed the same, would any ortho recommend casting? To be honest, my husband and I both feel that if casting now could correct him for life, we are all for it. We'd rather deal with the issues of having a baby casted than be worried at every future growth spurt that it will all of the sudden start progressing. (Maybe many of you with children already in casts would disagree?)Any words of wisdom as to questions that should be asked at the appointment?

February 2, 2011

Hi ,

Thanks for all the valuable input. Since the diagnosis at 4 months, we have

been doing alot more tummy time with Tyler, although now that he can roll over

it is becoming a little tougher to keep him there. We don't put him in a lot of

toys simply because it seems uncomfortable. We have noticed that especially

when sitting propped(ex. bumbo) his upper body sways forward (perhaps from the

spine rotation?) so he can't really maintain an upright position. The only

thing he seems to like is the jumper, but his time there is minimal at best.

I will definitely take your advice regarding trimming if we get to the point of

casting. I am not too worried about milestones as I figure that the scoliosis,

whether progressive or not, will probably delay him when it comes to sitting,

standing, crawling, walking, etc.

Thanks for all the helpful tips!

>

> Hey !

> Speaking to another mama that is thinking about casting their infant is not

> common on here. A lot of the kiddos are a wee bit older and have hit a lot of

> thier milestones before casting was done. I was SCARED about everything! We

> casted Logan when he was 9 months old. We decided to go ahead...even though he

> was just " army crawling " not the normal crawl just yet. He learned to crawl

> better and he also learned to walk in the cast. Logan is now 19 months old and

> just surpassing every expectation I ever had. He was diagnosed at 5 months old

> and we were told to " wait and see " because infants can sometimes correct

> themselves with the crawling stage....<BIG lie!> Logan got worse...he went

from

> 30 to 45 in ONE month. We decided to be more aggressive and go with casting.

We

> also took EVERYTHING that helped him sit up...away. No more bumbos, walkers,

> jumperroo, excersaucer...they all went. We were told by another doctor....that

> to keep his curve from progressing any worse until we could get to casting was

> MORE TUMMY TIME. That was the best advice we were given....EVER. 2 months

passed

> and we were able to hold his curve without it getting worse. I just didnt want

> the casting to double because he were trying to get him to walk...

> You will be surprise how well your lil one does with casting....they take to

it

> sooooo fast. I think its just the age range of acceptance.

> Logan's curve was a c-curve. By his 2nd cast he was casted at 0. (he was

> flexible too). We are now in our 6th cast...we are still working on

> rotation...but honestly...its just the details right now. We are hoping and

> praying that by his 2nd birthday this will be a thing of the past...but only

> time will tell. We will continue to cast until we see no more improvment. I

> consider us the VERY lucky ones to have caught our babies curves sooooo early

> and treatment is offered to the babies. Time is your best friend and your

worst

> enemy in scoliosis.

>

> The advice I would give to you is when they are trimming the cast....REMIND

> them....because they are not walking yet....their arms and legs are in

different

> positions on a daily basis. They get used to kids having their arms by their

> side and kids legs going straight down...they forgot that babies that are

> learning to crawl have their arms and legs in different positions.

>

> I hope everything goes well for you and your lil one....PLEASE ask ALL the

> questions to this group....they have been my support through this entire

journey

> and really the voice of reason when NO ONE in NC knew what I was talking about

> when I was explaining casting.

>

> Logan's mama (19 months old, 6th cast, 45 down to 0)

>

> ________________________________

> From: <j_poschmann@...>

> infantile scoliosis treatment

> Sent: Mon, January 31, 2011 5:30:59 PM

> Subject: Appointment Booked!

>

> Â

> After over two months of waiting, we have finally been called and have an appt

> booked with Dr. Hedden in Edmonton on Feb 17th. At this point we don't know

what

> to expect. To us it appears that Tyler's curve has gotten no better and no

> worse, but it's hard to tell because he is now at an age (6 months) where he

has

> been getting stronger overall. We are not sure what the degree of his curve

was

> at the time of the last xray or the amount of rotation (I will posting the old

> xray pics). If the curve has stayed the same, would any ortho recommend

casting?

> To be honest, my husband and I both feel that if casting now could correct him

> for life, we are all for it. We'd rather deal with the issues of having a baby

> casted than be worried at every future growth spurt that it will all of the

> sudden start progressing. (Maybe many of you with children already in casts

> would disagree?)

> Any words of wisdom as to questions that should be asked at the appointment?

>

February 3, 2011

Great news! I sure you have already gotten great advice/guidance from CAST

members and just wanted to say congrats!

HRH

>

> After over two months of waiting, we have finally been called and have an appt

booked with Dr. Hedden in Edmonton on Feb 17th. At this point we don't know

what to expect. To us it appears that Tyler's curve has gotten no better and no

worse, but it's hard to tell because he is now at an age (6 months) where he has

been getting stronger overall. We are not sure what the degree of his curve was

at the time of the last xray or the amount of rotation (I will posting the old

xray pics). If the curve has stayed the same, would any ortho recommend casting?

To be honest, my husband and I both feel that if casting now could correct him

for life, we are all for it. We'd rather deal with the issues of having a baby

casted than be worried at every future growth spurt that it will all of the

sudden start progressing. (Maybe many of you with children already in casts

would disagree?)

> Any words of wisdom as to questions that should be asked at the appointment?

>

February 3, 2011

AWESOME post! Giving your babe tummy time while trying to get the plan of care

sorted out is so spot on! Tummy time is so very important. Thanks for sharing

that!