Moving on up!

Wow! It's been a while for me on here. I just can't keep up anymore! It's a struggle. HA HA!

Anyways, our little man just got cast #4 applied last week (September 26). We've been taking him to a local hospital to get the old cast cut off and he's been going about a week without them which is actually really good. We could go longer but that just means to longer he will have to wear the cast.

He doesn't like the noise of the cast cutter but as soon as it is over he feels like a new little boy. He looks like such a little baby without his cast. It is so cute!

 

When we went for pre-op on the 25th Dr. Pete told us that he can physically see that Camden's back isn't perfectly straight so therefore if he can see it he knows it isn't time for an x-ray. He told us hope 4 or 5 more cast and then it will be x-ray time! That means we are HALF WAY there! Phew! I feel like we just started this whole process but we are 4 down. It's crazy! I'm hoping that it will be sooner but all I can really do at this point is pray.

Camden has done so well with his cast and it just amazes me more and more every single day.

When we went in for cast #4 everything was fine and dandy! He was a little ill when we first woke up because he was hungry but he had some water to hold him off until after the cast was done. They took him back to get started about 7:45. This time was later than normally because Dr. Pete was a little behind. Once he got back we ate some breakfast and about 11:00 they brought him out and we finally got to see him. As soon as he saw me he go upset because he wanted me to hold him and to feed him.

He really isn't on a bottle but he is for this especially since he is starving after he wakes up. He downed it, and then got worked up enough for it to all come back up which was upsetting to me. He was VERY sleepy once he woke up and he is NEVER like that. We took him to get his cast trimmed and get it wrapped in a color and he DID NOT like that fact that I laid him down. He wanted me to hold him and even when I was holding him he still wasn't happy.

This is one thing that really gets to me. When he is crying and crying and I can't do anything to help it.

He normally LOVES his wagon and he wanted NOTHING to do with it at this point. We finally got him back to himself and the nurse was ready to release us. He was still so sleepy but that would eventually wear off(hopefully).

We finally got home and Camden was very clingy the rest of the day and this mommy needed a break.

He went to sleep that night and woke up Friday morning about 9:00 and was pretty much back to himself. He's been a trooper and I am very proud of him!

Little man gets cast #3!

The time has flown. I cannot believe that we are already on cast number 3!

I just can't believe at one time I was bawling my eyes out hoping this wasn't true and now i am so glad that I went ahead with the things I did or Camden would be in a rut and I also would feel like a terrible mother.

The morning of Camden's cast we usually have to be there at 6:00AM since he is the youngest one to be casted in the hospital he can't go that long without eating.

We arrived right at 6:00AM and without any hesitation's we were straight upstairs and we were getting prepared for him to be taken back. I had asked the nurse earlier that week if they were able to use the IV anesthesia instead of the gas because I felt like it made him ill when he woke up and just out of the ordinary and mommies always know best! So they were able to do that which made me happy because like I said mom's know best!

They took him back about 7:45, and he was done about 9:00. Dr. Pete has the hang of this whole casting thing. When you do it for so long you get in a routine of it and it just becomes a habit.
Camden came down on a bed this time when normally they bring him down carrying him. He was still sleeping so good, I picked him up off the bed and he woke up. He was a little irritated that he couldn't get completely woken up but he was such a trooper and was able to wake up and he was back to his normal self just an hour after he woke up. My dad(Camden's amazing paw paw) pulled him around the hospital in the wagon which Camden absolutely LOVED. Every time he would stop he would moan a little bit but he was great while he was pulling him all over the place. We got in the car to head home and he was sleeping good until we got home, then he was ready play. He's such a sweet pumpkin and I cannot believe that he is almost a year old.
We go back September 26th for cast #4!!
I will post pictures as soon as possible!!

Pre-op #3!

Okay, so I am officially the WORST at updating in time on here. I know that I said last time that it was hectic which it was but this month was VERY hectic.

We just got back from the beach last Saturday and Camden fell IN LOVE with it! He loved the water and the sand. We got his cast cut off right before we left so he was free for a little longer that we expected. It was all worth it though. We have been crazy busy ever since we got back from the beach so I haven't had time to sit down and type.

We had Camden's 3rd pre-op on Wednesday July 17th. Things went pretty quickly once again.
Dr. Pete's new assistant came in and saw Camden this time. We had never met her before, she was so sweet and loved Camden.
She rubbed her fingers up his back and said "Dr. Pete may want to take an x-ray today". I thought this was very weird because at the beginning Dr. Pete told us he wouldn't take an x-ray for a whole year. Dr. Pete came in and examined Camden without clothes on. There is a noticeable hump in Camden's back so he told us that he would not x-ray until there was no visible sign of scoliosis in Camden's back and as soon as that hump is gone it will be x-ray time. Camden is growing very rapidly and things are going very well.
As soon as we got done with Camden's pre-op we went shopping for his 1st birthday party. No, I can't believe he is almost a year old already. It feels like just yesterday we were in the hospital getting ready to have him.
This was a short and sweet pre-op also, which was good because we had the rest of the day. We just had to be up at 5:00 the next morning and be at the hospital for cast #3 at 6:00!
(I will get a picture as soon as possible)
 

Quick Little Update

Where in the world do I even begin?

Camden has done absolutely wonderful with this cast, just like he did the last one. At the beginning as you can all imagine it was the most difficult thing I ever had to hear in my entire life. I mean seriously who wants to watch their baby go through something this major? No one.

 

Some people don't realize how major Progressive Infantile Scoliosis really is. I have had a few people just roll there eyes and others that want to know things, who ask questions about it and want to know more.

Like I've said in the past Camden is put under general anesthesia for EVERY SINGLE CAST. That is probably the hardest part to this entire process. It's nerve racking also because you never know what you child is going to act like when waking up from that anesthesia. The 2 cast that we've already been through have been heart breaking to me. I can't take it at all.

We can't give Camden a bath, nor can we just take him up the street to the pool and swim with him because his cast CAN'T get wet, and we can't just take it off give him a quick back and throw it back on, the cast doesn't come off until we are getting ready to head to Greenville SC for another one. Some people just don't understand how heart breaking it can really be behind the scenes. Although Camden is happy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I may not always be, there have been times where I can't take it anymore but I have to trust in the Lord to give me the strength I need to overcome this for Camden.

 

On a positive note, we are going to the beach here in a few weeks, and guess who gets to go swim, put his toes and his bottom in the sand, yep! Camden!

We are taking him to a local orthopedist to remove the cast with a cast cutter and he will be cast free for about 7 days, and then we will head back to Shriner's the day after we get back from the beach to have cast #3 put on. I can only hope and pray that this goes as good as I would like for it to go. I know that's a little ways away but it haunts me. I can only hope for the best with cast #3.

Other than those things, Camden is doing awesome and he is the HAPPIEST & CUTEST baby alive!!!! :)
Happy Mommy!!!!

Camden got his first hair cut a few weeks ago. Poor kid, he's only 9 months and has already had his hair cut.

 

 

He also decided he would scoot on over to the wipes and take them all out of the box :)



Little man gets cast number 2!!

Well as all of you know Camden got to go 2 days without his cast, which was VERY weird for me and him also. He was like a little noodle rolling around everywhere and doing the things he couldn't do before.

We drove up to Shriner's Greenville on Wednesday morning because Camden has a pre-op appointment every single time we go for a cast the day before. Just so they can check to make sure his vitals are okay and everything is set and stone ready to go.

We arrived at Shriner's at about 12:00 his appointment wasn't until 12:30 so we had just a little time to spare, we got checked in and walking through the door was Jennifer and Jackson and his family!! We were so excited to finally meet Jackson since he and his family had been coming here for the past 2 years. Jackson is the little boy I have previously talked about and put a picture of his little cast so that everyone would know what Camden's would look similar to. They are by far some of the sweetest people I have ever met in my life. They were so amazing and just so generous. I couldn't have asked God to put a better Casting family in my life but them. They also received the best news as a cast family they were told Jackson's cast #9 was his LAST CAST!! He was fitted for a brace and he is CAST FREE!! No one will ever understand that excitement unless you are going through the same thing!

Pre-op went by REALLY fast that day. No problems, and everything was healthy with Camden. We were in and out in about an hour.

So of course after that my mom, grandma, Camden and me go shopping! Bought Camden some things and me some things also.

This time we stayed in a hotel since there were more of us. Camden couldn't eat after 12 AM so I tried waiting as late as possible to feed him that night.

We woke up the next morning about 4:30, and he did GREAT especially with no food in his belly he was fine. We were able to give him some pedialyte up until we left the hotel but nothing after that since they put him under general anesthesia.

His surgery was scheduled for 6:00 so we had to be there right at 6 to get checked in and go up to check in with the nurses. My dad and Paul met us there so that I didn't have to go through this emotionally I wanted Paul to be by my side every step of the way, which he has been! Thank God!
We got Camden upstairs and back with the nurses. It was time for them to take his to OR so they could get to work. I of course cried, once again but who wouldn't when it's your 8 month old baby. Dr. Pete only took about 45 minutes on Camden because he so tiny the plaster isn't that much to work with.
He got done with him about 8:30, came and talked to us and said Camden did GREAT, his back is at ZERO degrees in this cast, his bones just have to grow that way.   
But we didn't get to see him til about 9:15.
They had his room ready and we were able to sit and wait..

The nurse finally brought him in and he was HYSTERICAL. He did not know what was going on or anything. I gave him some pedialyte and his of course spit that up so that was stressful for me. He wouldn't calm down and I couldn't take much more so Paul had to take over and calm him down. We got the plaster dried, and it was ready to be adjusted. Camden didn't just lay there this time he rolled and whined and did not want her to touch him. She finally got done, wrapped it up again in camo, of course and we were off to the build a bear room where we got to pick out a different outfit for his bear that we got the previous time.
By this time he had a few ounces of his bottle and he was almost ready to be released to go home.
The nurse came in, look the IV out, I changed his diaper, put his clothes on him and we were headed out the door.
This is one thing that I NEVER look forward to, EVER. I hate seeing my baby the way he was on that day and no one deserves to see that.

Here are some pictures from Camden's second cast...

After we took Camden's cast off. You can already tell such a difference.

Right after he wokw up..

 

This mommy couldn't handle the tears so daddy had to take over while I held Mickey Mouse Clubhouse...

 

 Sweet baby was getting his cast dry under the blanket..

 



Finally!!

Hey guys!!! It's been WAY to long since I've updated this because it's been so hectic and crazy around here. But I'm FINALLY getting around to it.

After 6 weeks, we are already going back tomorrow for pre-op #2!! Time sure does fly when your having fun. I still cannot believe that it is already that time again!! This time, this mommy is prepared and ready to take on what is to come although I may say that now and get to Shriner's and have another opinion. LOL

The past 6 weeks have been memorable! I will definitely miss the first cast because of course it's got memories behind it. But tonight was the first night in 6 weeks I actually got to hold Camden with NO CAST at all. We were going to wait and get the doctor to take it off especially since it was the first time for us and all. But of course Paul got a wild hair and decided he wanted to cut it off of him. Well.. it didn't work out how I really wanted it to but we did get it off of him and that's all that matters.

It feels so weird to hold him without it, and to see him so all of his activities without it on. He's like a worm but he's so happy and in such an awesome mood now.

I gave him his first bath and he LOVED it, absolutely LOVED it. He splashed and splashed until it was time to get out. It was so amazing seeing him actually get to enjoy bath time while he can.

Like I said in the beginning I know I have been very slack about updating this but our lives get so crazy everyday that it's so hard to sit down for 5 minutes and type something up when I would love to go into detail about EVERYTHING. The past 6 weeks have been awesome with his cast, he has coped very well to it and so have we.

We lay him on the kitchen counter every other night to wash all of his hair and stick his feet in the sink to wash those too. We have a routine and he has stuck with it.

But tonight I really don't have much to update except that the cast is off for a day then we will have it back on Thursday morning and of course I will give an update tomorrow and Thursday on how everything goes!!

Now I'm going to enjoy my baby without his cast :)

Goodnight!!!

Better Late Than Never

I have been meaning to get on here since Saturday to post something but it's been so hectic around here it's been hard. All we have done is hang out with Camden this week and also trying to get into a routine with this cast. Bathing is more difficult and you pretty much have to wrestle him to change his diaper. Also, just a wipe down is hard since he's into EVERYTHING. So it's been an adjustment but we've coped and so has Camden.

Our first night home with this cast was uhmm.. AWESOME! Yes, I said AWESOME!

Although he was a little fussy at times he was just getting in the groove.

We went to dinner that night with my husband's cousin, Camden sat in the highchair at the restaurant and let all of us eat while he played his smack the table game. HA HA!

We had some storms that night, and I DON'T sleep through storms so of course we were all up. Camden fell asleep about 11:00P.M and of course the first night in the cast the power goes out, so there is no AC, I freak out because I don't want him getting hot. But thankfully the power was back on in about an hour and little man slept until 10:00A.M. And again, YES, I said 10:00A.M. I was floored. Although he did wake up a few times in the night trying to get settled and comfortable and I tried helping him a few times but he was so good.

Friday was a bad day for me, I was alone with him for the first time since this, so I was a tad bit nervous but I'm his mommy so I had to be strong for him.

Our t.v. was out all day long so I thought I was going to go INSANE! Camden wouldn't let me leave his side, or get anything done so mainly my Friday was getting all the love I could from my sweet baby because I knew that it wouldn't last long after he got used to the cast. So we pretty much laid around all day and I got a little laundry done, and we took a nap which I ENJOYED very much!

 Over the weekend he was a tad fussy but nothing that we couldn't handle or calm him down over. Other than that he has been great! He's learning how to sit on his bottom like a big boy again, he already rolls back and forth and back and forth, and jumps in his jumparoo like he used to before!

 We even went to the grocery store and he sat in the buggy like a big boy and didn't whine the entire time!

Oh and you can't even tell the kid has his cast on, buuuut he does!--

so here's to a HAPPY MOMMY!

This child is so unbelievable to me and just so happy all the time!

 Although I know that some days will be harder than others for all of us, I have to remember that he is getting better one day at a time.

I feel so blessed to have everything God has given me these days. I am thankful for Infantile Scoliosis for my baby, and not something permanent because like I've said before I pray for those mommies who have to cope with the permanent things every single day, it breaks my heart to even think about what they are going through but just remember God never gives you anything that you can't handle and now I believe that. When Camden was diagnosed I was in denial, I prayed and prayed ALL THE TIME that God would change this and that I knew then that I couldn't handle something likes this.

Every single time I thought about "Casting" and all of the things that came along with it I would just break down. It was so hard! But now, I could talk to you about it all day everyday and not even shed a tear.

I am so thankful for Heather Hyatt Montoya (creator of Infantile Scoliosis Outreach Program) because if we didn't have her, I wouldn't get the chance to get to know all the mommy's that are going through this too.

I am so overwhelmed with joy in knowing that I will be able to help other mom's too(which I've already done for one) and reaching out to talk to people, get to know parents and children that are having bad experiences like we did, or ones that need my opinion on doctors, or the hospital's(if I am familiar with them). I actually got to answer my 2nd e-mail today from a mom who needs more information about Infantile Scoliosis. I could sit here and type all night long but I know you guys would probably get bored of my stories but I will be updating again soon when something else interesting happens or I have something on my mind that I would LOVE to share!

Goodnight!

Happy Baby+Happy Life in his cast= ONE HAPPY MOMMY :)



Cast Day #1

So many emotions going through me right now. I don't really know what to think about this new "thing" we brought home with us. Today definitely took an emotional toll on me. But he did absolutely amazing!

Of course, he NEVER wakes up in the middle of the night and last night was that one night that he just had to wake up when he couldn't eat after 3:00AM, now I know that I will just have to feed him in the middle of the night when this happens from now on.

We had to be at the hospital at 6:00AM so we were up and going at 5:00AM so we are exhausted now but we are still going. Nothing really hit me until the nurse came and took him away to take him back that was around 7:30AM, and I couldn't hold the tears back any longer. It was so upsetting seeing him go to the back without me.

We went back down to the 2nd floor and went into the waiting room where my mom,dad and grandma were waiting on us to report how he was. You would have thought we were chopping his leg off because he was so hungry and I hated not being able to feed him.

This is right before they took Camden back. They put these little shirts on him to protect his skin from the hard plaster that they will place around him.

 Mommy and Camden right before the nurse came

 

 

 

 We were starving so we went to grab some breakfast in the cafeteria which wasn't bad for hospital food. Around 8:30 right after we got finished they called us up so that Dr. Pete could meet with us and talk to us about how everything went. He said Camden is great! That he was fine and they were trying to wake him up to drink some Pedialyte. We got put into a room so that he could eat some food, get his cast cut around the edges and dry his cast completely since it is plaster. I couldn't wait to see him so I was pacing the door, and heard him down the hall, snubbing. He was not a happy camper since he hadn't eaten and all these strange women that he didn't know were carrying him around.

We got inside the room and started the drying process of the plaster. This is like a HUGE blow dryer to stick underneath a blanket so that the plaster can completely dry up.

The one thing that I didn't want to happen, happened. He threw up and I HATE seeing my baby throw up. But it was all clear so he didn't throw up any formula that I had given him, which was a plus. But he did great other than that, just looked around at everyone and around the room to check it out.

Mommy holding Camden for the drying process.

After the plaster was dry a new nurse came in to trim the edges off and complete the cast.

He was pretty good throughout this. He looked around and stared at her as she cut and adjusted his cast. Then we were able to decorate it with whatever color we wanted. Well we had some camo flex tape since daddy is a hunter so as of right now he has a camo cast which is too stinking adorable. They had also asked if we had picked out a build-a-bear for Camden, although Camden doesn't really know the difference right now we went to pick his bear out with a cute little football outfit, which we will be able to change every single time we go back!

Trimming up his cast.

 His new little camo cast!

 

After all these things were done we were finally able to get ready to go home! He had kept down all 6 ounces that he ate, and he was back to his smiley self. He would get a little cranky at times but he was so sleepy from all the events that went on today, we got 5 minutes down the road and he was out, and slept all 2 hours we were on the road and this mommy even got a little nap in too! 

 

He has been absolutely awesome since we walked in the door at home and I can only pray that every time we go back it gets better and better. All of the nurses that helped us, and my Camden man were AMAZING and of course as Jennifer(Jackson's mom) would say, Dr. Stasikelis is IMPECCABLE! No words can truly describe that man.

I felt like I had been going back and forth for 6 years, I felt like family there and that's how it should be. They are all so welcoming, comforting and warming. I would definitely recommend them to anyone and everyone that needed the help they provide.

 

 

 

 



Pre-Op #1

Today brought A LOT. Most of it, I expected so nothing came as a surprise to me.

Camden is getting to that age where he has to be into everything and he has to start discovering new things so he was a little wild today.

We left our house about 10:00AM and arrived at Shriner's Greenville, South Carolina about 12:15PM. The closer and closer we got the more and more my stomach started to get knots. There is absolutely NOTHING that could have prepared me for this day or tomorrow. After we arrived at Shriner's, got checked in, and immediately got Camden weighed and measured. We were put in a small check-up room where we would wait on all of the involved doctor's for tomorrow would visit us.

 

Dr. Pete's nurse came in and of course they always have 100 questions for you so we spent some time answering those. She also told us that Camden's procedure would be at 6:00AM and that was the time to be at the hospital to get checked in.

 After that she sent the anesthesiologist in to ask more questions and walk us through what would go on during the morning. They will take him back to the operating room without us, he would get a mask with gas to help him go to sleep(so not shots that's a plus). Although he will get an IV for other things(but that's while he's asleep). He should be back there for about an hour, or less then will start waking up and we will be able to go back and see him then.

After Camden has his cast on we will be taken back to a cast drying room where we will dry the plaster so that then we can decorate it with tape or whatever else we have.

We also had a visit from Dr. Pete who talked to us about the steps as to what he will be doing tomorrow and how he will do everything, he makes it sound so simple because he is the only doctor in the NATION to do casting and make the spine completely straight again. He told us that it was probably a good thing that we weren't in the operating room when he was doing this because we would probably pass out. Even though there is NO INVASIVE surgery involved and it's all outside the body he still has to use the body by pushing, and tugging so it would be a hard process to watch, he really had nothing more to say except to answer our questions that we had for him, which weren't many.

 

After the pre-op today I have taken advantage of every moment I had to hold, hug and squeeze my Camden. Surprisingly today there were no tears shed, although tonight when I was feeding him before he went to bed I just stared at him and balled. Knowing that will be his last real bath for a while and that it's a sponge bath from now until who knows when, that it will be the last time I can squeeze him tight for a while, or knowing that he is so comfortable now without his cast. It breaks my heart to so many pieces I can't even think about it.

When we were released from Shriner's we did a little shopping for Camden since it's 80 degrees outside and he needs some bigger clothes to cover his cast too, and just a little for my husband and I. We ate at this AMAZING restaurant in downtown then came back to the Ronald McDonald house where we will stay for the night.

 

Tonight is so bittersweet with my baby, he is sleeping so soundly right now and I can only hope that tomorrow night after he get his cast that he will be just as comfortable and sleep just as soundly. I need to prepare myself for the fact that a diaper change will be just a little harder after tomorrow, and cleaning up spit up or throw up is going to be a little more difficult, that rolling over will be harder, or that crawling is going to take a lot more work than before. The nurses keep telling me that they are SO surprised at how comfortable children get in their cast, so quickly. I can only hope and pray that Camden will be that child.

 

Tomorrow will be a new day and it will be our lives for the next 2 years, every 6 weeks. My entire life will revolve around Camden, he is the most important thing that I need to worry about right now and for the rest of my life, but I wouldn't trade it for the world and never will.  Although I know he will have to work a little harder for things. I know that I will too. Emotionally and physically. I understand that this will wear me out until I can get used to it and that it's going to bother me more than it will him but I have to live my everyday like that and I'm just going to have to get used to that.

Many many prayers would be appreciated tomorrow for Camden's procedure and his strength, for mine and my husband's strength to keep accepting these things, and for our families strength through the next year.

 



Too Quick

Wow! What do I say? This week has snuck up on us fast and I do not like it at all. My emotions are taking a toll this week. I have so many mixed emotions. Excited, scared, happy, sad, EVERYTHING! I don't know what to do with myself. I have really enjoyed these past few weeks being able to squeeze my little man, and hold and cuddle with him because I know once this cast is on this is going to be very difficult to do.

My mind is going 100 miles a minute. The things I need to do to prepare myself for this and the things I need to prepare around the house when we get back from our first trip up to Shriner's and back. I pray that he will get used to this thing fast and it won't be as difficult as I am planning on it being. I am not prepared mentally or physically for the things to come on Thursday. Wednesday is the pre-op and I of course will update you guys right after that and also Thursday as the day goes on.

I have joined the Infantile Scoliosis Group and get e-mails everyday from mothers who are experiencing this same thing and have talked to Amanda Medlin who is another mom going through this. Her son Logan, just got put in his last cast and I could just feel the excitement for her through the e-mail that she sent stating the doctor just told her that this WILL be the last cast EVER. And knowing that one day I will hear the same words and it will fly by faster than I think makes me ecstatic!!!

This is a lot harder than others think it is. Knowing that your baby has to be put to sleep every 6 weeks to be put in his little cast breaks my heart but I know that this is a good thing. For example, Dr. Pete's assistant told us they had a boy come in the week before we did who was born with Infantile Scoliosis and never did anything about it. He was 15 years old and his degree was at 110, he wasn't able to walk up a set of stairs and one lung never developed so he would never be able to play any type of sport which broke my heart to pieces. Knowing that if we hadn't have caught this when we did Camden couldn't have played a sport, or ran around on the playground but now we are getting the help we need and he will be able to do all of those things even with his cast on. Send up your prayers this week for Camden, my husband and I as we take on the first cast! Also, prayers for our families that we can all stay strong for Camden through this!

I will update you guys again on Wednesday!

Next Visit

On March 6th we returned back to Shriner's so that they could take another x-ray of Camden's back and we could talk to Dr. Stasikelis about the MRI results. Everything seems to go so smoothly at Shriner's it's never busy and there truly aren't many people there so it's very calm. We got back to take the x-ray, I had warned my husband before we got back there that Camden did NOT like the last x-ray so this would probably go the same way. Little did I know that it didn't. All we really had to do was hold his legs still for about 10 seconds to snap the photo and we were out of there. I was shocked and VERY happy about this!

We sat down and waited in the waiting room for the nurse to call our names, it was very quick because like I said before there really aren't many people there.

We got back to the room, and I felt like we waited ALL day for him to come in. He finally came in and greeted us, then said "Well I hate to bring people bad news, but Camden will have to be casted, his curve has progressed from a 33 degree angle to a 44 degree angle in a little over a month". And once again, I felt that lump in my throat since we had talked about this possibly being "resolving", I was already expecting this but hearing him talk more about it made me sick. I could tell by the way Camden sat that it was getting worse and feeling of his back every single day. I had already prepared myself for this news.

He will stay in the cast for 1 year to 18 months depending on his rapid growth. We will visit Dr. Stasikelis and his team every 6 weeks for Camden to get his new cast placed. Dr. Pete is a perfectionist, he wants the spine to be a perfect ZERO before he stops placing the cast, which is fine by me because I would rather my baby have a good healthy life but what kind of mom wouldn't?

My mother has been doing so much research on Infantile Scoliosis and found a group for mother's that are going through the same thing. I finally looked at it and found just the person I needed to talk to. She is a mother going through the same thing I am but her timeline is ahead of mine. Her son(Jackson) went through the same thing Camden is going through now at the same age! Jackson was placed in his first cast when he was 15 months old, he was at a 50 degree angle. He is now on his 9th cast and is spine is at a 4 degree angle!! I KNOW UNBELIEVABLE!!! His mother(Jennifer) has given me a sigh of relief, she has kept me up to date with how things go and what could possibly happen. She has been very encouraging, just listening to her I know that I can get through this and it's not the end of the world, although sometimes I may get weak it even happens to her STILL but I have to be strong for Camden. Of course I do get scared but I keep thinking to myself "Morgan this could be so much worse" that is when I thank God for giving Camden only this.

I pray and pray for those mommies that go through more than this because this is tough enough to deal with.

Camden's first cast will be placed on April 11th,2013. I pray for my strength and for my families strength to get through the things that we cannot change right now.

Camden's x-ray from March 6th, 2013 at Shriner's

 This is Jackson in his 8th cast! I know most people don't know what a cast looks like and lots of people think it has more to do with the body but it doesn't. Jackson runs, plays, jumps, dances and pretty much anything else that his cast will allow him to, or should I say he doesn't care about that thing he will do it anyways! Him and his mother are definitely an inspiration on us!

Stressful

We had the MRI done on February 27th at Children's at Egleston this is one thing that I was so stressed out about. I had so many mixed emotions I didn't know how to feel on that day. I couldn't feed Camden after 8:00 that morning so that was scary and nerve racking because those who know the kid loves to eat! While we were out that way we decided to take advantage of this and take a visit to The Varsity(Camden's first trip). He did so awesome! I was such a proud momma because he never whines or fusses about anything especially when he couldn't eat for so long. We finished up and headed over to the hospital to get this over with. His appointment was scheduled for 1:00, we signed in and had to wait to register him. We proceeded downstairs where they took him back to the little baby rooms, with the little baby hospital beds. The nurse had to check all of his vital signs and make sure he was well enough to be put under anesthesia(which he was).

He was in the clear so now they had to stick him with the IV (in his foot since he likes to suck on his fingers and hands), he HATED that and I was just fine throughout that. The doctor came in and talked to us about what was about to happen and that's when I felt that terrible lump in my throat and that nauseated feeling in my stomach. I was about to see my baby be put to sleep and taken away from me for about an hour, this was so scary. No mom deserves that feeling at all. As he laid there asleep I just cried and cried, I was put in the scariest situation I have ever been in. I gave him a small kiss on the forehead and walked into the waiting room.

An hour had passed and the nurse came out to get me. I asked her before I walked back if he was awake, she said "he's awake, but his eyes are still closed" I was so nervous about this. I wondered if he was going to get sick, or be very ill. As I walked back he was lying there rolling around and as happy as could be but his eyes were still shut. I picked him up trying to keep him from his head falling back or forward. He ate his bottle right away, and his eyes opened up and he was back to the happy baby he normally is, so that was a relief after that we were released to go home.

A few days later we got the results it came back NEGATIVE!!! No tethered spine or anything wrong  with it. Just a massive curve! We got all the results and the MRI photos and have to go back to Dr. Stasikelis at Shriner's on March, 6th for him to take another x-ray and read the MRI. And again, I had a lump in the back of my throat.

These are some photos of Camden right before his MRI...

Here are the results from Camden's MRI. They are pretty self explanatory:

Our first visit

We finally got an appointment to visit Shriner's Hospital on February 6th to meet Dr. Pete Stasikelis and his team. I have heard so many AWESOME things about him and I couldn't wait to meet him and talk to him about this problem.

We made our way back to the waiting room, and everything happened so quickly. First the physician's assistant came in to speak with us for a little bit about Camden's spine, to answer our questions and to take notes. He evaluated Camden and how he interacts with us. He was hoping that Camden's scoliosis would be "resolving" which means to curve would eventually straighten as he grew. Well I got very happy about that. It was a releif to know that he was so positive about this. But still in the back of my head I was thinking that it wasn't right.

After evaluation, Dr. Pete came in to evaluate Camden also. He said that most likely this was Progressive Infantile Scoliosis because of his RVAD(rib verticle angle) and of course my heart sunk to my stomach. I thought that I was going to puke after hearing that. He ordered Camden to have an MRI done so that we could be at ease that is was nothing to do with his spinal cord, and that he didn't have a teathered spine. IF that was the case they would have to treat that before we could take another step further.

Dr. Pete had recommended having Camden "casted" (there is not ONE person that I have spoken to who knows what exactly this is). He explained that this would be a hard plaster cast that would be placed around his torso, he would be put to sleep. The cast would be placed every 2 months because of his rapid growth and this could go on for a year to 18 months just depending on how much his spine would be tricked to grow in a different way and until it was completely straight at a 0 degree angle. This is a very positive pocedure from what I have heard from so many other mom's. It is very effective and is almost 100% curable.  Of course there was a lump in my throat after this was given an option. I was nauseated I would have never thought! This still wasn't 100% yet because we still weren't sure if this would cure itself or not. We scheduled to have the MRI done on February 27th, and I was NOT looking forward to this at all.

This is a picture of Camden's back while he is sitting up unsupported at 5  months old. Notice he leans more to the left and his RVAD (rib verticle angle) is out more on that side.

Answers

I guess I forgot to mention in my last post that Camden was born on his due date, September 5, 2012 at 8:10 p.m. Yes, I was in labor ALL DAY. So this post would put him at 4 months old, poor baby. Can't catch a break!
Camden's pediatrician schedule us to go see an orthopedist so on Monday, January 21st since the curve was a 33 degree angle according to Children's Hospital in Atlanta. I was really looking forward to this appointment to find some kind of answer as to why Camden's back was this way. When we got to the appointment, we were the only ones in the waiting room. I felt like we waited FOREVER! We finally got to the back and met Dr.William Schmitt, he informed us that Camden's back was only a 23 degree angle, to do some stretches with him and to come back in 3 months and we would go from there. I was so relieved by this, it made me so happy to learn that my baby didn't have scoliosis and that stretches would help this. Well any mother would want a second opinion from any doctor even if they do tell you the same thing just so you are at ease with the whole situation. Some of these doctors are not as smart as they seem. So a few days passed by and we made an appointment to go to Shriner's Hospital in Greenville, South Carolina to see doctor Pete Stasikelis who is the BEST doctor known to man on February 6th.  I was still in denial about the whole thing because I never thought something like this could ever happen to us but again I knew this is what we needed to do for Camden.  

You Learn Somthing New Everyday

On Friday, January 18th, 2013 we had an appointment with Camden's pediatrician a week ago, she scheduled us to take him to have an x-ray done on his back. So, that was the deed for today. Camden had his x-ray done and was not very fond of being held down or to sit still for 2 minutes. He hated that so much! But he was also very hungry on top of that. I've been in denial, my child was born perfectly fine in our eyes. Although he did weigh 9 pounds even, which was hard on this mommy. He stayed in the hospital a week after he was born because he was sick and they had to treat him with antibiotcs so with him being a newborn baby they had to keep him for 7 days. Don't you think that is enough? Well it wasn't. Late December we discovered that he would lean more to one side than the other, that's when the x-ray was ordered and now we are here.

We got to look at the x-ray and the first thing I said "yep, there's that curve". The x-ray was sent back to Camden's pediatrician where she would call me and give me the diagnosis. A few hours went by and I recieved the phone call that was on my toes about all afternoon. "Camden does have a little bit of scoliosis but it will be okay! He will just have to wear a brace and it will straighten his back out". Only to find out that I was about to learn about something that I have NEVER heard of before.

Camden's first x-ray that was done on January 18th, it was measured at a 33 degree angle.