
Julia's Bent Not Broken Scoliosis Journey
Doação protegida
This account has been created for those who want to help Julia along this treatment journey. We are so grateful for every prayer and every contribution made. Our family would appreciate prayers for provision and wisdom in how to coordinate everything and manage the other little people in our family.
Julia's Story:
We started out the day like any other Thursday: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Karate. At karate class, I noticed a bump on Julia's back that concerned me. After messaging all of the medically minded people in our family we made an appointment the next day to see Julia's doctor. She was diagnosed with severe scoliosis. It has not been an easy month learning of this degenerative condition that is affecting our girl or helping a 13-year-old cope with the reality of the situation. After her diagnosis, we made an appointment with a specialist in Dallas. They basically told us that there is nothing that can help except for surgery. She had started mentioning back pain and I never considered it could be because of scoliosis.
The doctor told us her growth plates are almost fully formed and her scoliosis would most likely progress to the point where it would affect her heart and lungs. They told us that if we had found this sooner we could have tried a brace and therapy to help her maintain her curve.
Julia made it very clear that she did not want surgery. She kept asking "Isn't there something we can do?" I still had hope that it wasn't too late. They did say she is technically not done growing yet. I had faith that there was a better option than just "watch and wait." Maybe a second opinion or a different course of treatment. I don't want Julia to not be able to do the things she loves in the future because of pain. I want her to enjoy karate and dance and whatever activities she wants throughout her life. Bent Not Broken became our motto.
I started researching. Ultimately, I found a clinic in California that has amazing success stories helping correct scoliosis by using a combination of nutrition, exercise, stretching, strengthening, and a corrective brace. They have developed their own brace and their own equipment while helping people from all over the world fight scoliosis. However, this treatment is not covered by insurance. They have shown that they can help lower curves out of surgical range and help them hold into adulthood giving their patients the best quality of life.
Because any back surgery is only a temporary solution if Julia has surgery she will require multiple surgeries in the future. Therefore, our goal is preventing Julia from ever having to have surgery. Our window of opportunity is narrowing. Julia has a Risser Score of 4 out of 5. This is the scale that is commonly used to assess whether a child is done growing. At a Risser of 5 growth is complete. Julia's current curves are 47 degrees in her upper back and 34 degrees in her lower back. Anything over 40 degrees is considered surgical range. Our goal is to help her reduce her curves as much as possible before she finishes growing. And that is the funny thing with teenagers... you never know when that will be.
Since time is of the essence we plan to have Julia in California by October 25th. The program at the Scoliosis Care Center begins with 3 weeks of intensive therapy and then they monitor progress every three months until growth is over and then they wean patients off of the brace. Since we know Julia is almost done growing we want to get her started in the program as soon as possible so we can have the greatest chance at lowering her curve. We know that this will take a miracle. We believe God can make a way! We are thankful when these trials come our way that we know our savior Jesus and we never walk it alone. One of my favorite verses is the very last line of Matthew Jesus says "And remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen
Estimated Costs
-Clinic fees, a custom brace, equipment to use for treatment, nutrition, and lab testing: $40,820
-Travel Expenses and lodging for 3 weeks $5,500 to $6,000
-Clinic fees for return visits: $3,900
-Travel Expenses for return visits: $2,000
"I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world." John16:33
Thank you Lord that you have overcome! We pray these trials we are going through now will become a testimony and a beautiful story of God's amazing peace through this tribulation!
"I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world." John16:33
Thank you Lord that you have overcome! We pray these trials we are going through now will become a testimony and a beautiful story of God's amazing peace through this tribulation!
Organizador
Dayna Watkins
Organizador
Tyler, TX