Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Summer and Orthopedic Visit

Hello Ava friends! We have been having a great Summer. Ava took a swimming lesson last week. She did so well. It was the first time (ever) that she got tired and exhausted to the point she had to stop and rest due to her lungs. Swimming is excellent for her lungs and also for her scoliosis. She learned all the styles of swimming. She made us laugh by not understanding quite how to dive. She thought she had to fly into the water like Superman and they wanted her to put her hands straight down and fall in. She is a silly girl. Brian and I stayed during her lessons. (Brian was a swimmer in high school, so she always wanted his praise.) I did not tell them about her medical history as most of the instructors were young teenagers and she had a new instructor almost every day. We were so happy when she told us that while swimming her teacher asked her why she was "resting"... she replied, "I only have one lung, and it takes me a little longer sometimes." She is advocating for herself! That is huge for me. I am very proud of her.

She may kill me but here is one of her videos of swim lessons. She loves the water but is not so sure about diving quite yet!


The other day I noticed her left shoulder blade was a lot further out then her right one. It scared me, and I called and got her in to see Dr. Weinstein. She had an appointment in August, but there was no way I was waiting that long.  I was so glad they were able to get her in yesterday. They did the "usual" hand bone age scan and also the full body scan. She had her brace on, and they told her to take it off.


It was extra busy in the office, and we had to wait. At one point Ava sat on the floor. She doesn't care at all about being uncomfortable. Give her some music (She LOVES to do the music videos.) and a pair of headphones and is good to go for hours! She amazes me!



I was not surprised when she measured almost 5'6. I can't believe how crazy fast this little lady is shooting up! Finally, Dr. Weinstein came in and examined Ava. He asked her to lay down. He wanted her to take off her brace and put it back on while she was laying down. (We learned this back in January when she first got the brace, but she gets lazy and does it standing almost all of the time.) He told her that she must put her brace on laying sown to get the most benefit out of it. He was calm and reassured her that he was very sorry the brace was so uncomfortable and hot. He is the kindest man. I asked him how her curve was and he said it is holding stable. GREAT NEWS. The shoulder blade is uneven due to her scoliosis.

I told Dr. Weinstein what Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's orthopedic doctors said about him... they oh and aww-ed about how Dr. Weinstein was the BEST orthopedic doctor in the WORLD. They told us he had written many publications, had done a lot of research for scoliosis and wrote the books on how to treat scoliosis. Plus he has received a ton of Awards for his achievements. We KNOW without a doubt that yet again God gave Ava the best! How awesome is that? I seriously am in awe over how great God has planned things out for us. First getting the best pediatric surgeon in Philadelphia (at birth) to now the best orthopedic surgeon/doctor today. MANY of our prayers answered regarding Ava's health and life!


Here is her latest scan. They said her curve is now a 20 degrees. (It measured 22 last appointment) I was a bit shocked as it started at 26 degrees in December. They told me that it could differ from each person that measures it and also from each scan. AND her scan made her diaphragm look a lot better as well of course to me... I'm not a doctor by any means. Also, we were there for a spine scan, not an x-ray. Either way, I'll take it! 


Here are the "official" scan findings from her July 30th appointment.

Impression: External brace has been removed since prior exam.

Thoracic dextroscoliosis, from superior endplate T2 to the superior endplate of T7 measures 20 degrees, previously 15 degrees.

Levoscoliosis from superior endplate T7 to the superior endplate T10 measures 18 degrees, previously 16 degrees approximately at this level.

Here is the scan results from her very first body x-ray on December 4, 2017-

Findings / Impression: There is levoscoliosis of the thoracic spine with Cobb angle of 26 degrees between T6 and T11. Negative sagittal balance with an offset of 9.1 cm.

The good news is she is NOT having any back pain. So now to get her to wear her brace for 14 hours a day is the goal. She does good wearing it at night but not so good wearing it during the day. Right now the brace is working!

Thanks for checking in on her. We are blessed to have so many supporters, followers and friends that think and pray for Ava. We love that you care!

I'll leave you with one of her cute snap chats!


Thanks again. We appreciate your love and support!

~Terri Helmick


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