Pearl's Curvy Spine _ Scoliosis Treatment

Hey all,

Thanks for taking the time to read this. If you cannot give at this point, please share this GoFundMe with friends. You never know who will be willing to give toward this funding request.

Last summer, during a growth spurt, my oldest daughter Pearl first presented with a curve in her spine. This curve is known as Scoliosis. Previously, we thought that she merely had terrible posture and would frequently tell her to correct it, but it is now clear that her spine is the source. She has nearly a 55-degree curvature in her spine. You can see this in her X-Ray photo.

She frequently has pain in her back and lately has even had some problems breathing.

We have prayed that God would supernaturally heal this and straighten her spine. He has not done so at this point. We trust Him in this, though.

In moving forward, we have researched many options of care for Pearl. Something needs to be done, sooner rather than later. If we do nothing, her curve will continue to worsen, and she will have problems with her lungs, diaphragm, and other organs growing in a smaller space than usual. She has more growth spurts coming up, according to her doctors. We hope that this curve is corrected before those spurts happen.

We have found a scoliosis specialist in Michigan who walked us through a natural way of correcting both the twist and curve in her spine. If you want more information, please visit https://www.treatingscoliosis.com/. They offer a 10-day intensive boot camp that includes corrective bracing, muscle work, exercises, and diet to correct curved spines. There are a couple of outcomes from this bootcamp. One possibility is that Pearl’s curve will be corrected enough that she wouldn’t need surgery. Through bracing and exercises, they have seen curves straightened a significant amount. The other possibility would be that the intensive serves as a pre-surgery preparation.

We want to avoid surgery if at all possible. Surgery will have up to 6 months of physical therapy after that would likely be painful for Pearl. If they put steel rods in her back, she will stop growing at the time of surgery. There is also the risk of chronic pain or spinal cord damage. Surgery will also not take the twist out of her spine, only the curve. And, with rods in her back, she will not be able to bend at that place in her body.

So, the intensive boot camp in Michigan is the direction that we would like to go at this point. The intensive will help take the twist out of her spine, and it will give her exercises to help her body reverse the curve naturally. It will help us see how she responds to the intensive care as well as they will help us think through surgery if surgery is our only option. But, insurance will not cover this care for Pearl. The total cost for this care, including the boot camp, the 2 ½ day follow-up, gas, food and lodging, will be $12,250. We would be incredibly grateful for any bit that you would be able to help.

If you can’t give, please consider praying for Pearl. If you would like any updates on her, please reach out. Thank you, Glen Salzman