Back Update

Getting measured

 For the last couple of months Kate has been all too happy to take her back brace off any chance she could. It is supposed to be worn 20 hours a day. There's always an excuse, it's too hot being the most popular. I noticed that it isn't fitting like it used to and took her into to checked. Sure enough she has grown almost 6 inches and her back brace isn't sitting on her hips like it should be.

On the bright side, because that's what we look for, the technician who measured her back thinks that the curvature of her spine hasn't changed for the worse and possibly is even improved. Only x-rays will be able to determine if he is correct.

The plan is to get a new brace, which takes about three weeks to make, then wear it for a few weeks. After that we go back into see her doctor at Rady Children's and get more x-rays. End of plan there. Everything hinges on that.

Getting fitted for a new brace is quite the party. First she gets two "dresses" made from stretchy material. They then stick a long rubber looking ruler between the two "dresses" so after the cast is made it can be cut off and leave a dress on Kate afterwards. Then he measured and drew lines all over Kate's outer dress and proceeded to apply casting material, the same used when you break a bone. Lots of experience with this stuff. Kate is a giggly girl and had a hard time holding still during the casting process. This girl makes me laugh. When he was cutting off the cast, the sound off the cast getting cut off sobered her up pretty quickly. She looked at me and declared that we are stopping and getting a treat on the way home. Something tangy, which we did. Now we wait.

One other thing, Kate just started middle school and we are all in a mess trying to get her out of going to PE. She can do a few things, but so very few it is not worth her dressing. Personal opinion. Also, she is a stubborn thing. She knows she shouldn't do certain activities, but she's still a kid and likes to prove that she can still do things even if she shouldn't. I cannot imagine the peer pressure in middle school to fit in, and how is she to do that in a PE class where she will be automatically singled out? Several emails and phone calls between the school and a district representative and we are still waiting.

Knowing that Kate cannot do some of the activities that other kids participate in, we gave her a week of golf lessons that she quite enjoyed. She is also taking regular archery classes. Of course the classes are sometimes held in a shop that is plastered with pictures of all the dead animals the people there have shot with arrows. Kate is very much not a fan. The first time we went, she gestured with her head to a wall of photo's and rolled her eyes. Man I love that kid.  

On goes the casting material

Casting