Scoliosis - the early days - Charlotte

We went back to the doctor in Charlotte yesterday and saw A's CT scan. It was absolutely amazing technology, and did confirm what everyone has told us. I wish we had been given the chance to do this testing from the beginning, but I know the other things were necessary as well.

She does have two different vertabrae that are formed in the shape of a wedge or pie, and there are three that are fused together on one side. (I think those look like one big blob.) He will be fusing five of her vertabrae together on one side, and will probably place some rods in there to stabilize it as well. She may wear a brace, and possibly a body cast after surgery. (I told L that if they have to put her in a body cast, I'm going to ask them to put a cast on her baby doll as well.) Alot of that depends on what type and how many rods he can get in there (since she is a small person, it may be limited). There are certain things that he really could not answer definitively until the actual surgery.

We do know that her hospital stay should be from 3-5 days depending on how things go. As far as when, we still don't have a definite answer, but should hear from the surgery scheduler any time after 14 days. (Apparently it takes that long for them to verify that we do have insurance and they will get paid - eventually.) The dr. is not available until mid-Sept. but we are leaning toward early to mid-October. We would like to go to the beach and participate in the fair before this, since life will be limited for A after the surgery. The closer we can wait to colder weather, the better, since playgrounds and the like will be off limits.