Addyson has decided that she would like to try out for cheerleading this year. Marty and I are supporting her in this decision. There will be some things that she will have to give up in order to cheer, but we are open to the idea.







She was feeling a little sick today and wanted to go to the doctor to rule out an ear infection and strep. While there we decided to go ahead and get her physical done for cheerleading. The ruling:



1. No ear infection (hooray)

2. No strep (double hooray)

3. Definately has bronchitis (aren't Arkansas allergies the best)

4. She needs glasses (with a dad that's blind, there's no doubt)

5. She has scoliosis.



When Marty told me that, I was floored. Scoliosis??? I remember when I was about her age, our gym teacher would have us strip down to our bra's and bend over so they could check our spines. That was about all I knew about it. So I came home and researched.



"Scoliosis is not a disease—it is a descriptive term. All spines have curves. Some curvature in the neck, upper trunk and lower trunk is normal. Humans need these spinal curves to help the upper body maintain proper balance and alignment over the pelvis. However, when there are abnormal side-to-side (lateral) curves in the spinal column, we refer to this as scoliosis.


Who is at risk?Scoliosis affects 2% of women and 0.5% of men in the general population.



Idiopathic scoliosis is broken down into four categories based on age: (1) infantile: children ages 3 and under, (2) juvenile: 3-9 years old, (3) adolescent: 10-18 years old, and (4) adult: after skeletal maturity. The most common form of scoliosis, representing approximately 80% of idiopathic scoliosis cases, is Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS), which develops in young adults around the onset of puberty." http://www.iscoliosis.com/causes.html



So this is what I've learned. Dr. Conover said that her's has been detected early and for right now we will just monitor her. We will have to have a spinal x-ray done every year and compare to the last year. As long as things don't appear to be worsening, we don't need to do anything right now. If there seems to be a change in her spine, there are other options, both surgical and non-surgical.



I am so relieved that we were open to the idea of her cheering. Otherwise we may have not found out that she has this condition. Without monitoring, it can become so sever as to interfer with pregnancy and child birth (it's hard to think that my 14 year old will be a mother someday), walking, sitting, and every day function.



But the best news for Addyson, she's been cleared to cheer. Nothing can stop this young lady!