I Interrupt Today's Trip Report...

to share with you some wonderful...

amazing...

NEWS!

We had our appointment with the new orthopedic surgeon today. Brady had a series of XRAYs to check the degree of his scoliosis (side to side spinal curve) and kyphosis (front to back spinal curve). If you remember, at our January appointment, his XRAYs showed that both curves had increased significantly in 3 months time. We approached today's appointment with trepidation because we feared his curves would be even greater. In recent months we have researched several options for treating this type of problem, all of which are either quite invasive (surgery) or very restricting for Brady (casting).

Brady had both standing and laying down XRAYs. By comparing the two, the doctor was able to assess if the curves were flexible or fixed. A fixed curve would be very similar in both a standing and laying XRAY. A flexible curve shows improvement when you lay down.

I didn't realize this was even possible, although Matt and I have been asking God to do this for our Brady for a while...Brady's scoliosis has actually DECREASED! His previous scan went from 15 degrees to 5!!! There is a margin of error with these XRAYs, but the doctor assured us that the improvement shown is outside of the margin of error, meaning that Brady's spine actually straightened out a little bit in the last month or so. His kyphosis curve went from around 47 degrees to 44. With the margin of error, this means that this curve pretty much stayed the same!

Another great piece of news is that his laying down XRAYs show that his curve is pretty flexible--the curve improved by about 20 degrees. A flexible spine is still able to be molded and changed. Of course the doctor told us that we are in no way out of the woods. We still need to follow up on this quite frequently and Brady is at risk for significant increases in either curve, especially during times of growth spurts. It is likely that some form of intense treatment or surgery could be in his future. Typically, growth slows down a lot by age 4 and 5, and then increases during puberty.

We are totally overjoyed by today's news. Remember what I was saying about God yesterday? Nothing, absolutely nothing, is beyond His reach. He can move the mountains, why did I ever doubt that He could bend my little Brady's spine back ever-so-slightly in the right direction and give us so much hope for his future!?!?!

Thank you for your prayers friends! I read about many cancer families who worry that after their child is done with treatment that people will stop praying. I worry about this too, but am constantly reassured by your comments and emails that we aren't walking along, even though our battles seem to be easier:) To God be the glory...