jim
Jana, I just wanted to give you a picture of life from the perspective of an adult with congenital scoliosis. Your daughter is very fortunate to be born in todays world. I was born in 1963 and my parents noticed I leaned to one side no matter how many times I was straightened out. At 6 months I was diagnosed with congenital scoliosis, with a 87 degree curvature. I would die before I hit puberty without an operation, but the operation had to be delayed until my torso grew some. In 1967 I underwent surgery at Shriners Hospital in St. Louis MO, having 4 ribs removed, my spine fused, and a 10 inch Herrington rod installed. So now I am short from the waist up, should have been 6'3-6'4 but instead I'm 5'7. So I'll have to be short with you! Ha Ha!! It sounds like your daughter's situation is much better than mine, and I would expect her to be nothing like my case. So how is active life like this? I have to avoid bending, reaching, and lifting jobs. Mostly I have to avoid twisting so that meant some sports were out. Even at that I still carried my ex-wife over the threshold when we got married. I have 3 teenage daughters and I expect daughter will very likely be able to have children too, I have known other women to do it). I see your daughter as being very fortunate, she is undergoing a very traumatic experience at an age that is less apt to impact her. At 5 years old it is hard for a child to understand... "since you have something wrong with you, you have to go to the doctor where it will hurt"..AND the worst thing about it is that Mom and Dad are all for you seeing the doctor! Wasn't they supposed to be on my side? If I was to give any advise to any parent raising a child with a disability it would be to give that child value, because the world praises perfection. I have been fortunate, my parents were both musicians and I started playing at 9 years old. During my teen years I didn't get roaring fans from the bleachers, I had the admiration of my peers (and screaming girls!). That made me feel worthy of acceptance, that I wasn't less than others, but had a special value. My handicap is just God's way of focusing my energies towards the things I should be focusing on. I now play several instruments, have written several hundred songs, and record them with me as the only performer (as a full band). I work for the US Navy as a civilian and life is mostly "full". I do not miss what I never had, in fact I'm still not sure of what I have missed, I've been too busy "focusing"!