Early treatment and Mehta casting works- Ella's Story

[Guest guest]

*This may bore some of you. Many of you have " been there, done that, " but it's

my hope that a new parent, one that is scared will see this and know that there

is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Early treatment and Mehta casting WORKS. Isn't that what we all want to hear?!

I've been hesitant to share Ella's story, but encouraged me to do so, if

for no other reason than to say that this does indeed work. She (Ella) proves

the research correct. I'm so humbled and grateful. I also feel that at any

minute the rug will be pulled out from under me or someone will pinch me and my

world will crumble, much like Cinderella's carriage turned back into a pumpkin.

Ella's " curve " was discovered at 4 ½ months of age. Her pediatrician finally

looked at her back at my insistence and immediately sent her for xrays that same

day. The xrays were read that evening and we received the results the following

morning. She had scoliosis. No one knew what to tell us other than that. We were

told that she'd be referred to an orthopedic surgeon located several hours from

us. The night after the xrays were taken I was in a panic. I had no idea what to

do, so I did the only thing I could. I began researching and reading and

researching some more. I eventually found something about a treatment called

" casting " and thought, " Aha! This might be it! " It was a video from a physician

located in Birmingham, AL. I'll never forget that moment of hope. At the same

time I was looking for a hospital to treat Ella. The children's hospital the

pediatrician was trying to refer us to just felt wrong. All wrong. With my

mother's help I stumbled upon Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Some people may

say it was a " feeling, " I personally think it was God, but either way I knew in

my gut that THIS was where my baby girl needed to go.

The morning after the xrays were taken I called Cincinnati Children's and said,

" I have no idea if you'll except my insurance and frankly I don't care. I just

know my daughter needs help. " They were wonderful. They went above and beyond in

getting me to the correct people and within 2 hours Ella had an appt scheduled a

bit less than 2 weeks out. They originally scheduled her for a month+ out, but

after hearing that her curve had worsened visibly in a 2 week period they fit

her in sooner. I can't say enough positive things about Cincinnati Children's. I

have yet to have a bad experience there.

I would also be remiss if I didn't add that within a few days of receiving the

news that Ella had scoliosis I found ISOP. I also found . On a whim I

called her. And then I broke down. She got it. She understood. She asked for all

the information I had and I told her. She assured me that Dr. S was one of the

best and Ella would be in good hands. Her reassurance at that moment helped pull

me out of the dark hole I had been sitting in. I'll be forever grateful to her.

My husband and I met with Dr. S and I was fully prepared to argue, fight, and

plead if necessary. Please cast her, I would beg. It was completely unnecessary.

He was willing to listen to everything I had to say and was unwilling to let me

worry about issues that were out of our control at that moment. After examining

her and reviewing her xrays, ect, he calmly looked at me and said, " I think

she'd be a good candidate for casting. " The sense of relief and DISBELIEF at

that moment was huge. But that began our casting journey.

Ella received her first cast at 5 ½ months. Because she was so young and was

growing so rapidly, she would wear her cast for 5 weeks, have a week break and

then be re-casted the 6th week. Her curve began at 41 degrees. In the first cast

they got her down to around 10* (how about that for great results?!). The first

week in this cast was awful. So many of you know this. I can only imagine that

each age has its own challenges. Since Ella was so young she laid there as if

she was dead. Only her eyes would move for the first few days. It was

heartbreaking. She did adapt and it became her new " normal " and she did well.

When it came time for this first cast to be removed I drove her the 5 hours from

our home to the Shriner's Hospital in Greenville, SC. I didn't want anyone

touching that cast that didn't have experience with them and Cincinnati

Children's required a plane ride. There was also a part of me that wondered if

I'd like Shriner's more and would be able to drive to and from instead of flying

all the way to Cincinnati for cast changes. What ended up happening was that it

confirmed how much trust I had in Dr. S and his team. Please don't

misunderstand me! There was NOTHING wrong with Shriner's in Greenville. It just

wasn't what I felt in my gut was right for Ella.

Cast #2 brought a pleasant surprise. She was out of cast for 5 days before it

was applied and the xrays showed…she had held at about 10*while in that first

cast. Unbelievable! I was shocked. Thrilled too! We were tentatively told that

if she held when she was out of the 2nd cast then she may only receive one more.

Sure enough she was out of cast #2 for 6 days and she held again. So long story

very short, Ella is in her 3rd and final cast. Before cast #3 was applied they

fitted her for her brace and in 2 weeks we will go back to Cincinnati, they'll

cut off her cast and she'll be put into her brace. And she only wore a total of

3 casts. I had prepared myself for no less than 10 casts and several years of

casting. I'm so overjoyed, yet terrified at the same time. Will she hold in the

brace? I hope so. I pray to God she does. I'm hopeful that the combination of a

wonderful doctor and early treatment with Mehta casting was the answer for Ella

and her journey is complete.

said that she thinks Ella is one of the youngest to be casted (at least

in the US). Do I have that right ? If that's the case, I think that's

even more reason to promote early treatment and Mehta casting. It works!! For

any parents that are reading this that are new and frightened and scared, please

know and have faith that this does work and it's not in vain.

Momma to Ella (9 months, in cast #3-final cast)