As a parent, you understand that your role is to protect your child and ensure they have the best start in life. Unfortunately, adolescent idiopathic scoliosis has thrown up a hurdle in your child’s development and you’re taking steps to correct the issue through surgery.
We assure you that you’re in excellent hands regarding surgical scoliosis correction here at Texas Spine Consultants. Our team, which includes Dr. Michael Hennessy, Dr. Chester Donnally, Dr. Heidi Lee, Dr. Andrew Park, and Dr. Robert Viere, has no small amount of collective experience in the spine surgery arena. We’ve helped many kids get back to the business of being a teen through scoliosis correction surgery.
While we will do our part with the utmost care and expertise, we want to provide you with a few ways in which you can support your child through this intensive process.
Your child’s journey up until this point has undoubtedly been a challenging one as the curvature in their spine shows no signs of relenting and they’re struggling with discomfort on every level — physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally.
Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis can leave kids feeling hopeless and very much alone. Hence, it’s essential to let them know that they are far from alone — the condition affects between 1% and 3% of kids and about 38,000 undergo correction surgery annually.
As well, your child is entering a phase in life in which they want to be treated more like an adult and that’s especially important when it comes to their own bodies. We believe that kids should be part of the decision-making process — let them weigh in on the surgery and allow them to ask all the questions they want.
If kids feel they have some control in an otherwise uncontrollable situation, it can help.
Recovering from spinal correction surgery can be a lengthy process that requires patience and planning. On average, most kids who undergo surgery for scoliosis miss about 4-6 weeks of school, so it's a good idea to work with your school and your child’s teachers to figure out ways to prevent them from falling too far behind.
If the global pandemic taught us anything, it’s that we can accomplish a good deal remotely so you’ll need to plan ahead for your child to continue their learning from home for a while.
In addition to conducting school work remotely, you might want to encourage your child to remain connected to their friends. Fear of missing out is a big deal with teens so encourage them to stay in touch with friends directly instead of scrolling through social media to stay connected.
You might also talk with some parents of your child’s friends to arrange some visits, though don’t force this if your child isn’t on board with having visitors.
Your child won’t be able to play sports or enjoy physical activities for many months after scoliosis surgery, so it’s a good idea to propose alternative activities. Try to engage them in games or maybe encourage them to try something different, like taking guitar lessons. Who knows, a lifetime passion might come out of the experience.
The bottom line is that there will be good days and bad days and your role is to keep the recovery moving forward. Make it very clear that there’s a large bright light at the end of their recovery tunnel and they’ll be soon plugged back into the world, better than ever.
If you have more questions about how to support your child after scoliosis surgery, please don’t hesitate to contact one of our offices in Addison or Plano, Texas.
