Advice and encouragement for 10 year old dancer
Hi friends. I noticed in August my daughters shoulders were pretty uneven. Took her to the pediatrician who said Yes let’s get her over to a spine dr and xrayed for scoliosis. 2 weeks later I’m in an office while my daughter is fitted for a back brace with a 37 degree thoracic curve and two compensatory curves.
It’s crazy - she’s been a dancer for 7 years, and a competitive dancer for the last 3 years. She’s been in tumbling for 4 years. She is in zero pain.
She has a hemivertebrae at her neck that the dr explained can’t be braced. I’ve been reading about all of this, and our options, since that appt. We get the brace Oct 15, as well as her full MRI. But everything I’m reading states surgery to have the Hemivertebra removed needs to be done between ages 5 and 10…we are at 10… Is this what most people do? Is this the right path? I know they would have to fuse it at her neck, but as she goes through puberty, the rest of her spine can straighten out naturally. I feel like this makes the most sense and offers her the best long-term comfort with her spine. I am surprised the dr didn’t suggest that, but i also know they may make different decisions once they’ve done the MRI.
I would love to hear from anyone who had a thoracic hemivertebrae removed as a kid and how they were affected by that. This is all so shocking and new to us.