Posted by Lynndi
on 10/23/2003, 7:33 am
81.132.142.61
lynndiloo@msn.com
Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Lynn, and I am mummy to four fantastic children, aged 11 down to 6. Three of the children have varying degrees of disabilities. One of whom is Alice, who is my main reason for writing to you today.
Alice is the most incredible little girl you could meet. She is only six years old and yet what she has had to endure in her six years, what you or I could not tolerate for six days. She never complains, always has a smile on her face, and even though she is about to go through the most awful thing, still remains her cheerful little self.
Alice has severe scoliosis of her spine, (curvature of the spine). She has been in a body brace from being 12months old. For the first year of that she was in a plaster cast. She is now in a brace, which we are allowed to remove for 1 hour a day for bathing purposes and to allow her skin to breathe for a while. All was going well and the curve was being "held".
In February I asked for an appointment to see her consultant as she was in so much constant pain, which she had never been before. X-rays were taken and then he told us the sad news. The curve in her spine had increased by 8 degrees making the curve in her spine 81 degrees. Wedging has also formed, which means that the spaces in the curves are now being forced open with the growth of bone, which is forming in these spaces. At 55 degrees her pulmonary and cardiac health is compromised and they wanted to do surgery as soon as possible. She has 3 curves in her spine and some rotation in her pelvis. She can only manage a half day at school now because of the amount of discomfort she is in, and the type of medication she is on three times a day makes her feel at times quite unwell and tired.
Alice's date is drawing so quickly now her date for going into hospital is 28th October, the operation being on the 30th. They are going to do a combined spinal fusion. They will be taking a rib out and going in through the front as well as going in down the length of her spine at the back. The operation will take a whole day and she will be in hospital for hopefully only two or three weeks. She will require months off school to recover.
This operation is also going to be the first of many as Alice as she is so young. We do not know how much of a success the operation or successive operations will be. We remain positive but also have to be realistic. Alice is being so amazing about everything.
From the time we found out about Alice I have been researching etc But there is very little information about "little people" undergoing surgery
It never ceases to amaze me how our little people deal with all this so fantastically.
I wish you well,
Kind Regards
Lynn
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