Counting down until the spine's in line...

Natalia's spinal fusion surgery has been scheduled for Monday, April 2nd. We had our pre-op appointments yesterday at Children's and are inside of three weeks. The curve had not changed with any significance since our last appt four weeks ago, which was good news. Natalia had written down a long list of questions and Dr. Krengel patiently answered them... Yes, she can have a parent with her when they anesthetize her. Yes, she will lose weight (we'll do our best to beef her up in the next three weeks!). Yes, unfortunately she does have to take off her underwear for her surgery. And on it went! Natalia was rather excited when asked to participate in a pain and sleep study for Children's - the incentive is $60 in gift cards to Target and if you know Natalia, she was all over that! Our next three weeks are busy, so know they'll go fast and the day will be here before we know it. We are thankful for the support of family and friends...

Scoliosis update

It's been a about six weeks since we returned from the treatment program in Wisconsin. The at-home exercise program included three 20-minute sessions per day. Last week, we had our first follow-up appointment with our orthopedic doctor since early December. Unfortunately, we did not get the news we hoped for. Natalia's scoliosis has continued to progress - seems like it is determined to continue in spite of our best efforts. The only way to stop the progression and gain some alignment is spinal fusion surgery. Natalia's surgery has been scheduled for early April. We anticipate a 4-5 day hospital stay, followed by several weeks home from school during recovery. We have high confidence in the orthopedic specialists at Children's and are adjusting to the fact that surgery must be. We are fortunate to know another girl from Lynden who underwent the same surgery at Children's last March. They have been very happy with the outcome of her surgery. So, we take one step, one day, at a time and have confidence that God has all things in his control.

Home!

Yesterday, we finished out our second week at the spine clinic and flew home. It is sooooo good to be home! Guess we brought the WI weather with us as it started snowing on our drive home. Dr. Dovorany is very optimistic that Natalia's body can sustain the change in her spine - holding at about a 22 percent reduction, and even potentially continue to improve the curve. For now she'll be doing weighted cantilever exercises three days a day for 20 minutes each. We will also be following up with a chiropractor in Bellevue each month. Overall, this was a really good experience for us and we are so glad we went!

Natalia with Dr. Dovorany

Natalia with Amy and Michelle at the clinic

The weighted cantilever exercise

Tuesday

Here's our home away from home. We are in the bottom unit that you can see in the pic.

Days continue to go by - we head home in three days. Wow! Natalia is doing well in her treatment program. Dr. Dovorany continues make slight tweaks in the the routine to best address the curve. This week, two new people started the program. Jada is a 7 year old girl from Ohio, and Griffin (totally unsure on the spelling) is a 13 year old girl from Israel(!!). Two other women, who started with Natalia - one 25 and one 44, are also still here. So many people, from all over, all ages, seeking non-surgical options - amazing!

Today, Green Bay experienced a near record high for January 10th of 46 degrees! That meant another walk for me along Fox River. Went the other way this time, into downtown. And back through the historic district where I couldn't get enough of all the beautiful old homes! Fabulous!

Ice floating down the Fox River

Old church in downtown Green Bay

The Historic District

A few of the many fabulous historic homes

Saturday

Ah...a day off! Well sort of - Natalia has to do her exercises three times a day, for 20 minutes each time. But that seems easy after 6-7 hours per day for the past week!

We had a great day, spending the afternoon with my boss' sister and husband who live nearby. We did a little shopping, had a great lunch at Kroll's across from Lambeau Field, and then went and explored Lambeau Field, home of the GB Packers! Fun afternoon - loved spending time with you, Jan and Gary!
Our evening was spent with Sharon and Maja at the home of Evan and Marilyn and their two spunky girls, Megan and Molly (who happened to adore Natalia!) They served a delicious dinner and we had a wonderful evening of visiting and fellowship! Thank you so much! Didn't get out my camera this evening - bummer!


For fun - some interesting Green Bay facts:

1. Green Bay is one of America's oldest settlements. French explorer Jean Nicolet founded the city in 1634.
2. The Fox river, which cuts through Green Bay, is one of the few rivers in the world that runs north.
3. It's just 54.3 square miles.
4. Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple, was born in Green Bay.
5. There are six colleges/universities in Green Bay, the largest being the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay with about 4,800 students.
6. Thirty-five percent of Green Bay residents have German ancestry.
7. The average snowfall per year is 40.7 inches.
8. The average high in January is 24 degrees. So, it's remarkable that it's been in the 40's a few days while we've been here! They really pulled out the red carpet!
   
9. The average high in June is 77 degrees.
10. Green Bay is by far the smallest town with an NFL team. The population is just over 104,000 people. There's a reason the team hasn't been moved to a bigger city: the franchise is owned by the fans, or over 100,000 share-holders. It's the only team in any major league sports to have this kind of ownership. No wonder they love their Packers!!!
11. One of the Packer's first equipment managers designed the "G" logo, but it doesn't stand for Green Bay, it stands for "Greatness."
12. Lambeau field has 72,928 seats.
    
13. And every game has been sold out since 1960.
14. There are about 78,000 people on the waiting list for season tickets!

One Week Down...One to Go!

We are halfway through the 2-week intensive treatment program. Natalia had x-rays today to see how things are looking. At this point, she has a 22.8% curve reduction! Dr. Dorovany anticipates more curve reduction next week, with additional reduction over the next 90 days as we continue the exercises at home. We are thrilled with the early results, and are hopeful that they can be maintained! We have exercises to do over the weekend and this is what we'll be bringing home to do as well!

We enjoyed our afternoon at Heritage Hill State Park - a living museum spread over 50+ acres. Reminds me of Pioneer Park in Ferndale, on a much bigger scale. Would be awesome in the summer when they have all the buildings open and people dressed for the period and performing period activities.We are looking forward to doing a little sight seeing tomorrow with my boss' sister who lives nearby. We've also been invited to dinner at the home where Maja B and Sharon A are staying. They have 8 and 9 year old girls, so that will be fun! Have a great weekend!

Greetings from Green Bay

Treatment continues for Natalia similar to the schedule I described earlier. She is doing well. Tomorrow (Friday) Natalia has just the morning session and she will have x-rays and I will meet with Dr. Dovorany to get an update from his perspective. Looking forward to that!

Dr. Dovorany did adjust the weighted balancing exercises today. This is also the exercise equipment that we will be bringing home - although it may be adjusted again before we leave.


Yesterday, I discovered Kaaps Old World Chocolates - just 1/2 block from the spine clinic! What fun. And tasty!!! Reminded me of a shop in Leavenworth. They have been making chocolates for 100 years here in Green Bay.

Last evening we went to Bible Study here which was absolutely wonderful. Loved meeting the folks here, and making connections with them to people we both know.

This afternoon I took a walk on the Fox River State Recreational Trail, a 25 mile public trail. It is just one block down from our hotel and a great place for recreation. Wow, what a community treasure! Here are some scenes from my walk!

Tomorrow, since Natalia has the afternoon free, we are going to meet the workers, Maja B and Sharon A, and tour the Heritage Hill State Historical Park. It is just about a mile from where we are staying and looks to be a wealth of history. Natalia will love it!!

Will post an update tomorrow with a progress report! Thanks for all your care.

Tuesday

Today was our second full day of treatment. Natalia knows better what to expect now, and spoke up better today when something was uncomfortable so that adjustments could be made. X-rays taken today indicate that Natalia's back is starting to respond to the treatments, which is really encouraging! I got pictures of the other machine to post. It is the most comfortable one, and is almost good enough for a snooze!

The hotel and staff are great - they provide a VERY nice full breakfast, as well as a nice snack and beverages in the evening. We feel well taken care of...thanks for all your thoughts and words of encouragement sent various ways! We feel them!

The first day

We have successfully completed the first day of the Scoliosis Boot Camp! The day is broken into three rotations of 5 machines, plus chiropractic manipulation. Natalia does two full rotations in the morning between 8 am and 1 pm, and then has a lunch break. Following lunch break, she does one more full rotation. She's laying in bed now, settling in and says it doesn't hurt to lay on her back like it did before. I'll take that for a good sign. Some of the machines were a bit boring, others felt good, and some were a bit claustrophobic. But all in all, a good first day. Here are some pics of Natalia on four of the machines. I'll try to get a pic of the fifth one tomorrow.

Monday Morning Update

We had a wonderfully uneventful day of traveling on New Year's Day - both flights were early and we collected our bags and made it to our hotel. We have a small studio setup so we have a kitchen which is great, being here for two weeks. Found out our hotel will do my grocery shopping with my list, for no charge - think I might get used to this!

We checked in to the Spine Clinic at 8:15 this morning. Natalia has had her initial x-rays and now is back to begin her treatment. Will be anxious to get her report.

It is about 18 degrees here, and clear, with some northeast wind. A little snow. So cold, but bearable. Our hotel is only about 1/4 mile from the clinic, so a quick walk.