Luke's life changing spine surgery

FUNDRAISING FOR LUKE'S SPINAL SURGERY

Thank you for visiting our site to support Luke Larsen's surgery.

LUKE'S STRUGGLE WITH SEVERE SCOLIOSIS

As many of you know Luke has been battling scoliosis since shortly after birth. At the age of 18 months he was put in his first body (torso) cast and at 5 years old he transitioned into daytime plus nighttime brace that he has been wearing 20 hours a day. We have been traveling to Shriner’s Hospital in Salt Lake City about every 5 months to provide Luke with the proper care that has been needed. Now 8 years old, while Luke’s doctors and nurses at Shriner’s have provided exceptional care and ‘treatment’ for him, they have exhausted their options of correcting the curvature of his spine. During the last visit in March they measured the curve to be almost 90 degrees and we were told that he needed surgery ASAP as the extent of his curvature is now putting excess pressure and stress on his internal organs, in particular his  heart and right lung which without further intervention, will likely be crushed. In addition, as the curvature has progressed over the years, so has the pain and discomfort. 



SURGICAL OPTIONS

Unfortunately, the ‘treatment’ options for such an aggressive form of scoliosis at this young age are very limited. Basically, it comes down to two options: one consists of repeated surgeries over the course of the next several years. There is a great deal of risk involved and the procedure itself has a low success rate. Additionally it also puts him on a path towards an extensive spinal fusion around the age of 12-13. The second option is a newer surgical procedure called Anterior Scoliosis Correction (please see this link  for details) and this procedure is only done by two doctors on the east coast (and by a few doctors in Europe). At a high level, the procedure has a goal of using a child’s remaining growth as a catalyst for correction of the spine and ultimately avoid fusion all together. During the procedure special screws are mounted in the vertebrae and a tether is attached to each of the bone screws. Using special instrumentation the cord is then tightened and with this tension, spine correction takes place and improves even more as growth occurs.

ADDITIONAL SURGERY AND RECOVERY DETAILS

Luke will be having this life changing and life saving procedure on August 8, 2019.  Luke will be tethered from T6 – L3, meaning they will be putting screws in each vertebrae from his mid-back to where his hips begin. They will also de-rotate his spine as is it currently rotated almost 25 degrees. Luke’s right lung will be deflated during the procedure. Provided all goes well, Luke will be in the hospital for about 5-6 days following his surgery.  After he is discharged, we will stay in a hotel near the hospital for 3-5 days to make sure everything is healing properly.  We will then return to Seattle for Luke’s recovery. It is expected that it will take 6-8 weeks before Luke can return to school.  

FINANCIAL NEED

Despite the fact that over 500 successful surgeries on young kids and teenagers have been performed by these two surgeons, the $75,000 procedure is not FDA approved (it’s in process, but there’s no ETA) and thus it is considered ‘experimental’ and not covered by insurance companies. In addition to the surgery costs, there will be also be the expenses associated with travel to the east coast, about 12-14 days of hotel and general living expenses staying out of town.

Thank you so much for considering supporting us in thoughts/prayers and/or with your financial support.  Your encouragement and support means the world to us.


With love and gratitude,
Carsten Larsen and Chabree Larsen