Session Twenty-Eight: Making the Crooked Places Straight, Part Nine

Session Twenty-Eight: Making the Crooked Places Straight, Part Nine

We had a new plan! We had made the prayerful decision to stop the casting for scoliosis treatment and try the nighttime bending brace, with the knowledge that her curve, which was currently around 55 degrees, would be closely monitored. We understood that the brace would not provide the same degree of correction as the cast, but it was our hope that it would maintain her improved scoliosis curve while allowing her chest wall the opportunity to grow.

We came to an agreement with our then seven-year-old, that if she wore the customized brace every night, then she wouldn’t have to be casted ever again. It was a bold assurance to give her, especially since I couldn’t guarantee it, but somehow I just knew that last cast was her last jacket cast. No more turtle shells for our girl!

Life in the Boston bending brace was going tremendously well! We loved and appreciated all the freedom she had to enjoy life, especially during the hot summer months! Our daughter never bucked about sleeping in the cast and she faithfully wore it every single night, with the exception of nights she was terribly sick with a respiratory illness. It never caused any skin issues or difficulty in falling asleep. Our experience was very positive.

Our daughter’s previous casting schedule was set on three-month intervals. It was February of 2023 when she should have been casted with her seventh cast but was molded for a brace instead. It was six months later when we Traveled with Our Trachie back to Wilmington, DE to meet with her orthopedic surgeon to see if we could continue with bracing or if the curve had worsened too significantly.

Once again, leading up to the appointment we prayed a novena for the intercession of St. Gemma Galgani, the patron saint of spinal injury and disease. I was sure that the surgeon would want to put our daughter back in a cast, yet I had this surprising amount of peace leading up to the appointment. The Lord had covered me with His bountiful grace and freed me from the anxiety of worrying about the “what ifs.” It was a rare moment in my life when I truly trusted God. I finally understood what it meant to let go and let God.

Glory, glory, glory! Did we have such great news to share following our appointment. Our daughter’s nighttime bending brace, which she had been wearing 10 hours each night since March, was maintaining her scoliosis curve well enough so our girl did NOT have to get the plaster cast under sedation. Her scoliosis curve only worsened slightly.

It was decided that the MAGEC rods (titanium growing rods anchored to spine) surgery would be scheduled for the spring of 2024. The next step was to schedule a preoperative flexion/extension MRI on her cervical spine to make sure everything looked good to proceed with the surgery.

We were elated to share the good news with everyone following our daughter’s inspiring story. She was cast-free, and she would never wear a turtle shell cast again! Our God is faithful.

Next time on Making the Crooked Places Straight, we’ll share our daughter’s experience with MAGEC rods.