Category: A Curvy Journey – Scoliosis

Join us on our journey through life with Scoliosis as a teen growing up.

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Apifix.. take 2

I am so stumped on how to start this one. Sitting in the family waiting room at the IWK in Halifax, waiting for some sort of detailed update, some sort of comforting words to reassure me my girl is doing ok on the operating table today. It’s been almost 2 months since we were last here. Last time I was preoccupied and doing retail therapy with my other girl as my daughter’s father and his son and daughter in law sat here waiting. Today it is just me and my laptop. I am ok with that, It is peaceful in a sense and I am having some ME time. Some ME time with the greater portion of my mind being in the OR with her.

You see today is the revision surgery day, the day we were not hoping to have. The day every parent dreads when things don’t medically go as planned. We all know though that with medicine and surgeries the unknown is always there. The Apifix surgery to fix her Scoliosis is detailed in previous posts you can see here.

We have the best of the best working on her. That is helpful to a point. As a super worrisome mom, ( is there any other kind of mom really?) LOL I am so proud of the outer strength she has shown to date. Inside I have no idea how she is doing, what I do know is that inside I am a mess. I have so many mixed emotions going on inside. I can’t help but feel the Dr this morning seemed super nervous. But heck, how could he not be! He is a man of great strength working as the only Dr in Canada doing this procedure. It is amazing what he is doing and although I am a bundle of nerves, there is no doubt in my mind she is in the best possible hands she could be in.

We arrived early this morning and things flowed so smoothly. Into her room in Day surgery just like last time. Then the parade of nurses, the anesthesiologist ( Jess from Australia, she was awesome) more nurses, more questions, repeat questions.. lol, then the Lab came for bloodwork, the first of many needle pokes for her today! 🙁 Next came the wonderful Jonny shirt and then the Surgeon. Things got real now.

He explained the consultation with numerous of his colleagues from the US and Isreal. All of whom are the best of the best concerning Apifix. They looked at her X-rays and CT Scans providing input into what this day would involve.

How would they best attack this revision surgery and how to get a successful outcome for this Apifix surgery! He reassured that all involved were confident that a solution is possible, it would just depend on what route to take once they get back inside her back.
It seemed much scarier this time, for myself anyways. The risks associated, yes there are always risks when it comes to surgery. Today it just seemed to hit me harder. I hope a blood transfusion isn’t required, the screws they are working with are close to blood vessels, so the risk it there.


So as I continue to sit and wait, let me share some ways to keep you grounded and your mind from spinning when faced with situations like this:

  • Go for a walk
  • Read a book
  • Journal
  • Nose breathe ( click here to see more on this)
  • Play a game
  • Remind yourself you are a great person, times like this always seem so hard on the mind and we begin to question our worthiness
  • Eat, yes you need to fuel your body and mind to handle the stresses!
  • Limit the coffee or caffeine intake. Your nerves don’t need any boost of stimulation, they are already going full out!
  • Meditate, yes you can meditate anywhere!
  • Talk to a friend
The waiting is the hardest part!

Finally, I see his face. The surgeon that is!

It’s about 30 mins later then they said for the end time. My nerves were certainly starting to get the best of me at this point. Luckily I had done many of the points above to keep me grounded for the past 3-4 hours. My good friend who works at IWK came and sat with me for a few minutes on her break, her timing couldn’t have been better. I was starting to spin and my mind was playing with me. Her face was a calming welcome and we shared a bunch of laughs and she really got me grounded once again! Love the power of friends and laughter! xox

He had the look of satisfaction on his face, He was so relaxed, and had the best news ever! The surgery went better than expected, with no complications, no excessive blood loss, and the revision went very smooth. The feeling of gratitude I have this amazing team is indescribable! Now to continue my wait until she into the recovery room so I can see her! As I waited I messaged everyone and passed on the great news! It was as if I had won the lottery, the feeling of our joy! LOL, now back to the healing process once again!

She was much more alert and awake coming out of surgery this time! She was still quite teary as she was waking up, but was very alert and loving the peach popsicles! Her lips were still a bit swollen from the breathing tube, but no bruises like last time!


The best part for about this time around was NO CATHETER!! lol, She looked at me and said in a whisper voice ” I don’t think I have that pee thingy this time!” Her eyes lit right up and she was extremely happy! LOL, It is the simple things in life we take for granted! Like being able to get up out of bed to pee! 🙂

Her nurse from 7th floor, where she would be calling home for a few days, came to wheel her up. Off we go, luckily I am a pretty going stretcher driver! NO accidents and smooth sailing!

We had been joking before that we had hoped to have a better view from her room this time! Well my goodness, did we ever!!

Fast forward to the following day!

My nerves have now settled and I am so very thankful for all the support we have received. Mama slept like a baby last night, for a couple of hours at a time! lol
The first full day after surgery was amazing! She has been up walking around and is in great spirits with not much pain at all. The Dr was in and showed us the before and after xrays, he was very happy with everything. This helped keep me calm and relieved!

Fingers crossed that this will be the last of the surgeries for a great long while!

Can honestly say, she will not be missing this pole that has been her side kick!

She is still on continuous pain meds via the IV with the hope to wean off that in the morning and switch to pill form instead. This is kind of scary from a mom’s point of view, I worry how the pain will be, but I know she will handle whatever comes with strength and determination as she always does.

Day 2 after surgery, (2nd full day)

The best morning so far in her eyes, they are stopping the continuous flow pain meds and switching to a pill form. This is the first step in releasing her from all the wires that are keeping her confined to this lovely but not no lovely building called the IWK! It is a great place but she is ready to go home! She can even go outside for a bit today!!! WOO HOOOO Depending on how her pain goes, all the wires and tubes may be unhooked as early as tonight!! She is happy about that for sure, but also we are hesitant as to how the pain will be! Either way, she has been a rock star and is doing amazing!

Day 2 post surgery and off for more xrays !

Day 3 after surgery

She is still doing amazing. I am such a greatful mama! The night went very smooth and she is adapting so well to being off the IV meds! The Ortho team was in and gave her to go ahead to go home!

We had met some great people while here again this time. It can certainly tug at your heart strings seeing all the little kiddies with medical issues. So many little babies and my heart goes out to all of the families. Maddi had a great little fella next door to her. He was about 2 yrs old and had been in surgery the same time as Maddi. He was a little trooper as well and a real heart charmer! After the 2nd day he let me play with him in the hallway, with his light up paw patrol ball!! It brought me such joy to see his smiley face as we interacted!

I also need to share with you the awesome folks in the Ronald McDonald house located within the IWK! What a great thing! They have a great family room and arts and crafts for families to use. They have a great kitchen that families can use, bring in your own food and cook it up just like a real home! So nights they have volunteers come in and cook meals for the families at the IWK! What a welcome surprise this was for the night of her surgery! I hadn’t ordered anything for supper and was quite hungry!

Thanks to the volunteers I got to enjoy a piece of homecooked quiche, and ham and real veggies!! Fresh and full of flavor!

This is such welcome news as she is beyond ready to go home! She has been in such good spirits while in here but is going stir crazy, so for her overall wellness, ( and mine as well! ) We are glad to be heading home!

Final thoughts now that we are home!

This surgery recovery has gone so much smoother with less pain than the first one! The Ortho team is greatly impressed with how everything is going and we can only continue to keep our fingers crossed that this will be the adjustment needed and this will be the last surgery for quite some time!

So for now, it’s take it easy at home time. Less than 2 weeks until her grade 11 final exams.

Study, study, study will be her thing! That will be a joyful time!! LOL, Luckily she is pretty dedicated and on top with her study habits and is pretty confident that the exams will be ok and will pull off passes for all her courses!

See ya’s all in 6 weeks time after her second 6 week check up! Please send prayers, good vibes, whatever it is that you do when strength is needed, send it her way my friends. If you need good vibes sent your way, reach out and let us know, we love sending good vibes out!

Until next time my friends, be kind to yourself and look out for others! XO

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6 Week check up..

Welcome to you all! If you have not seen the other posts regarding our curvy journey and Scoliosis please click here and have a read!

The week leading up to her 6 week follow up brought more pain in her left side. A tingling numb sensation. At this point, she was off of all pain meds and was using Tylenol or Advil for her pain.

She had been doing all her stretches except the door ones and the floor with roller. They seemed to be getting more difficult and the pain was a bit worse so I was relieved to be heading back for a checkup. I was not overly concerned, and certainly wasn’t expecting the results we would receive.


It has taken me some time getting this post together, my head has been in a whirlwind since her checkup. Luckily I had made pretty good notes that same day and the days following, so here we go! The bottom line is, revision surgery is required within the next 2 weeks. The top 2 screws have moved.

Waiting for xrays. Little did we know these smiles would soon be replaced with tears and lots of decisions. Soon after the xrays she were being rushed in for a CT Scan. The xray had showed that the to 2 screws has moved, but did not show enough details about what was actually going on. The first ct scan was done, but did not show enough of the blood vessels, so they had to use dye contrast to help get a better understanding. The tough cookie that she is went in for the ct all by herself, I waited in the waiting room. The 2 staff with her just amazing and really helped keep her in good spirits while they were getting the ct scan done. I was very thankful for that!

My mind during the wait….

” 1 hr sitting and waiting for the ct scan. My chest is just so tight, so much anxiety. Deep nose breathing as much as I can to keep myself grounded and as calm as can be. This is not at all what we were expecting today. Deep down inside the past few weeks I had a weird feeling about her recovery… uggg… moms intuition or just mom worrying? who knows? Please just get us some answers and make my baby girl ok.

After having the night to get a little bit of sleep, and some time to think about things a bit more in detail. I guess also once everything sort of started to settle in I’m realizing that this is just a wee set back.
We knew going into this journey that there is always the potential for things to take a different path than what we had anticipated. When you’re dealing with medicine and fairly new surgery, a lot of unknowns are to be expected. Things can sometimes veer off the original hoped for path.
Now although I’m saying that, my insides are still spinning. I know my daughter must have so many more emotions going through her as she’s the one living with this. It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact, I just can’t begin to imagine what she must feel like knowing she has a device inside her that has shifted and is no longer sitting where it’s supposed to be. In all reality, it has the potential cause more pain and really we don’t really know what else at this point.
It’s comforting to know that between the doctor and the Radiologists they feel it’s not something we need to rush on right now( at the day of 6-week checkup). They feel that although the screws are not where they’re supposed to be there is no immediate danger of her spinal cord or her any muscles or blood vessels. They reassured us that it seems to be out of any harm’s way. Now, that doesn’t mean that we can just let things be. Obviously, some decisions have to be made and that’s what we’re going to be having heavy on our hearts and minds the next few days.
I should add right now also, Dr. El Hawary is away at a conference with all the Apifix folks the week before her revision. This includes the designer of the device and almost all doctors from around the world who have been involved with Apifix since the beginning. So although this is not the path we had hoped for, with requiring another surgery, we are so very fortunate that we know she has the absolute best team looking at her situation. When she goes in for the revision, we know that the plan ahead will have a lot of input from a very knowledgeable team. I think that fact is helping me deal with all this just a bit easier!

  • Waiting for Dr
  • The device

Here are the options presented:

  • Remove the device and replace it with the fusion option. Which is one solid rod with many many more screws securing it in place keeping her spine straight. ( this is the main go to surgery for scoliosis) It has been used for many many years.
  • Remove the device and leave nothing in her back and see how the scoliosis progresses on its own.
  • Do a revision surgery in which they will add a couple smaller rods and use 3 smaller screws (4mm) to secure to 2 different vertebrae. ( Originally there were only 2 larger screws 6mm into one vertebra)
  • Do nothing. Which is not a wise option.

My daughter is quite adamant that she’s going in for the revision. She wants to stick with this path an get the second surgery done as soon as possible so we can let the healing process begin again.
It just amazes me how strong she is really being, I’m sure she doesn’t quite feel as strong as I am seeing. I’m sure that deep down inside she’s a lot more scared than she’s letting on. As a mom sitting and watching her go through this it’s so hard. It’s hard watching any of your children struggle, knowing full well there’s nothing you can do to fix it. All you can do is be there for them. Support them, be the moral support they need and love and encourage them. Be that venting board when they just need to vent. Sometimes it’s hard to not take these venting sessions personally. I am fighting with that. I’m here to support her and to listen. I know the anger, the frustration, the sadness, the scared feelings she has, all of those emotions that she has are not geared towards me. Well, not most anyways!! LOL, So I let her vent. I try to keep my shield up so it doesn’t affect me personally and we carry on.

So that’s what we’re doing now, waiting for the revision.

Luckily going into this her school marks have been really good. The time she has been missing is making it very tough for her to keep her marks as high as they have been but she is persistent and is doing what she can. Hopefully, we can find a tutor soon and that will help her get ready for exams which are just a few weeks away.

Now for those who may wonder if we are happy with the decision she made to try this Apifix surgery, let me reassure you. We are still super confident in the decision made. We have the best of the best working on her and making the best decision possible to have a successful outcome after this revision. Has it been easy? No not at all, but we have no regrets. She is such a trooper and one tough cookie, I am so proud of all she has been through.

I have been in contact with a few other moms whose children have Scoliosis and talking with them has really been a world of help for me. If you or anyone you know may benefit from our story please share this. I would love to hear from anyone, the Apifix community in Canada is quite small, so please share and let’s build up this community if the need is there!

The next update will be after the revision surgery! In the meantime feel free to message here or email us at jensjourney73@gmail.com

Until next time my friends, be kind to yourself and look out for others!xox

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The 3 weeks following surgery.

This post is well over due and I had hoped to give a more detailed day by day for at least the first few days, but well, the days slipped by and I kept pushing it off.. so now here i am trying to put it all together from all the little notes I had been keeping – thank goodness for pictures and those little notes- my memory is mush!

I have had a lot of people reach out since I first started posting. I never realized how common scoliosis is. It has been great sharing our story and hearing from others as well. We have only connected with a couple of families who have had, or are considering Apifix. Makes me think that maybe an online support and peer networking for Apifix might be a good idea! I will add that to my list! Now I should say there are lots of scoliosis groups but not many in North America that have had or even know of Apifix as it is so new here! So please spread this around and have anyone get in touch if they would like! Here is the link to the Apifix websitehttp://apifix.com/en/

The drive home went really smooth, lol which is funny because the roads in Eastern Canada are anything but smooth!! With the pain medication the hospital gave her, plus bonus one, for the drive really helped to settle her and she slept most of the drive! She didn’t find herself in too much pain, and we made really good time, about 4.5 hours!!

When we got home she went straight to bed and continued on with her pain meds every 4 hours. She found quite a bit of comfort with ice packs, she was having tingling and odd sensations on her left side. She found the ice helped bring comfort. She required assistance getting in and out of bed a little bit. Once in the bed she could slowly move a bit however it was quite uncomfortable. She was in good spirits despite the fact she was pretty sore .

When we got home she went straight to bed and continued on with her pain meds every 4 hours. She found quite a bit of comfort with ice packs, she was having tingling and odd sensations on her left side. She found the ice helped bring comfort. She required assistance getting in and out of bed a little bit. Once in the bed she could slowly move a bit however it was quite uncomfortable. She was in good spirits despite the fact she was pretty sore . Iced coffee smile, a welcome home treat from Chris!

  • Nuf said
  • Bean and bear cuddles
  • Pretty sure M is in there somewhere!
  • Up and about slowly
  • Home sweet home!

The next day, day 5 post op!!

It just amazes me that only 5 days ago she was in the OR! Recovery has certainly changed over the years for any type of surgery! I am thankful for that, It is nice being in the comfort of our own home! Karen our nurse from the IWK, called to see how she was making out. I explained to her that she was doing quite well but was still having quite a bit of tingling sensations on the left side- she was having this same sensation in the hospital post op. We are watching to see if there is possible nerve damage, but seeing as she wasn’t numb anywhere and could still feel her toes the care team wasn’t too concerned about it right now. Just to reassure all of us, Karen was going to check with doctor El-Hawary and get back to us the next day. When she called us back she said that we could increase the Gabapentin, the nerve pills, if need be to three times a day.

The third day home she was ready for a shower. Oh my gosh, I remember thinking to myself- How the heck am I going to get her in the shower without getting these bandages or these stitches wet first of all, then how is she going to have the strength to get in and out of the shower. She took a pain pill before attempting the shower and within about two minutes in the shower she realized that maybe it wasn’t quite time for this yet. I helped her out of the tub, but not until helping her rinse as much of the shampoo and conditioner out of her hair as we could. Uggg what a struggle, poor girl! Once out, was pretty pale and went straight to sit down when she got out of the shower. After a few minutes she started to feel a little bit better and was able to come out to the kitchen. We realized then that maybe it was a little too soon for the shower but she was a trooper and she did well.

Now the fun part, trying to do something with this hair of hers- super thick, not really short, AND has being in the hospital for a bunch of days. Anyone get my struggle?? lol This is what we had.

  • This Mess
  • Ugggg
  • Slowly we got em all out

With a lot of patience and not much yelling at me, thank goodness LOL I was able to get all the tangles out and she was actually able to brush her hair now. That was it for the day. It doesn’t take much to wear her down still, and this was definitely enough for today. She went back to bed and pretty much just chilled out and watched TV for the remainder of the day. A well deserved chill out, in my opinion!

A mamma’s mind, a mamma’s creation! How to wash the girl’s hair without having her nearly pass out? Start with 6 towels, 2 pillows,a footstool, a blanket, a pain pill, 3 face cloths and the most awkward bent over position for what seemed liked an eternity!! (for her and mamma too!) But I didn’t dare complain about my back!! LOLThat is how a mamma gets it done! Much happier girl after this attempt on day 6 post op!!

On day 5, day 8 post op, home she was starting to feel a bit better. She was moving more and getting in and out of bed by herself now! Proud mamma moment- and one less she needed me to help her with!!! Independence is coming back!!. She wasn’t taking her pain meds through the night, only the odd night. At this point now she is taking Tylenol, a strong anti-inflammatory as well as the nerve pain pill.

Each day I am more amazed, only one week post-surgery and she’s getting along so well. She is so moving very slow but she’s up she’s walking around the house. She is still bothered by some pretty intense pain/tingling on her left side. She’s describing it now more as tingling and kind of like pins and needles not so much muscle pain right now. She finds the best way to relieve this is just simply by pacing the floors. It doesn’t make it stop but it certainly lessens the pain until it passes.

I was quite impressed that she decided to start working on some of her school work that the teachers had put aside. I’m happy to say that the teachers have been super supportive, offering to help her when she’s able to get back into school.

One week home and she has now been out for a car ride and is getting around quite a bit better but still gets tired quickly and is quite sore if she tries to do too much. She still not lifting, not bending all that well but she’s definitely moving around more.

Out for a drive..ice cream and a bone half the size of Bean!

Week 2 post op

It’s really been pretty relaxing and quiet the first 2 weeks home, not at all what I expected. I have sort of let myself slip out of my self care moments, so my head is getting tired and messy, time to start getting back on track really soon! I was a bit worried how the pain would be as week one she was still pretty sore- happy to say first week was the hardest. But not at all as painful for her as I was anticipating! She’s one tough cookie! The second week now she is moving around a lot better she started her stretches – which she hates – it is quite painful. This is normal and is what we were told would happen. So she’s doing them at her pace, she knows that the stretching is the key to a great recovery and outcome!

2 weeks less a day post op and into school for Grade 12 course selections!

She realizes that if she pushes too hard it could just cause more soreness and that will just slow the recovery. She was feeling up to going into school at exactly the two-week post op day. I was so nervous about this, not because she wasn’t ready to walk and get around, but because what if somebody bumped into her or she got pushed accidentally ! Uggg my mind was so worried. She went with a friend, a bodyguard in my mind! I knew Emma would make sure she was safe and looked after! One class was good enough for her that day, and for me as well!

It was nice because she was starting to get frustrated with some of her school work that she wasn’t understanding. One of her teachers met with her after school and did some extra work as well. She’s able to get out in the car more often now. And the sharp pain that she was experiencing the first week has definitely lessened- just coming from time to time. She talks more about now muscle pain as opposed to the tingling. I’m assuming this is because she’s moving around more and she’s starting to do the stretches so the muscles are getting cranky. Thankfully it’s just the muscles that are cranky! LOL

As the days go on, I realize I am way over due in getting this post out. I wanted it out much sooner for sure, but well, here it is finally! I do have more pics of her incisions and her back, if anyone wants to discuss more in detail please do drop me a message! I’d love to share more and answer any questions you may have!

We are back to the IWK first week of May for her 6 week follow up. School is on the plan starting after Easter break, at least for one or two classes, she hopes! More to follow as this curvy journey continues! Be sure to subscribe and keep up with all our/my journey!

Until next time my friends, be kind to yourself and look out for others! xo

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It’s all over but the healing now

She was quite sore and tired. A broken night of sleep as the nurses came in every couple of hours to give her her meds and to move her in the bed so she wouldn’t get sores and to keep her more comfortable. The staff were great and very supportive and comforting to her.

Day 1 Post Op

In the morning, just like after surgery, her dad continued to make sure she blew on her little pinwheel every hour to help keep her lungs clear and encourage good air flow because of the heavy sedation she was under. Can’t really say she was a fan of this but she did it! The morning after surgery, physio came by to get her up. This was the first time she had been on her feet since before surgery. She was in good spirits but got a bit nauseated when she first sat up. Being the trooper that she is, she managed to get up and into the wheelchair. She wheeled herself out it to the hallway and then back to the bed. I was so impressed with her and so was physio! That was enough for now. Back to bed to rest now!! A well-deserved rest! The anesthesiologist was in and discussed his plan for pain management in the days ahead. She would stay on her continuous drip pain medication until at least the following day and she still had use of the PCA (patient-controlled analgesia) pump, if she needed. He stated that once she was able to come off the continuous flow she would still have the PCA pump to administer if she needed. It would probably be day three before taking the IV out, switching then to oral pain pills.

  • Honest, I’m not that short!
  • First time out of bed!
  • Look at her go!
  • Thank goodness for facecloths

The physiotherapist was back in in the afternoon and Maddi was wanting to get up and walk. She did a whole walk around one wing of the seventh floor. She did amazing, no dizziness and no feeling nauseated! I walked with her and physio, she felt quite tall, and pointed out how short I looked! Such a doll she is. lol, She shuffled along quite well. She said her back felt much different than it did prior to surgery.
Being only the first full day after surgery she’s not eating much. They’re hoping that by the end of the day today she might be able to have a little bit more to eat than just the yogurt and what not but it depends on how she feels.

Day 2 Post Op

  • Yorkie visit
  • Up and outta bed!

It’s Saturday now, she’s still quite sore today and not really keen on moving around much. I got up to see her around 9, we were headed to my fiance’s mom’s 80th birthday if Maddi was feeling up to me being gone! I knew she would be fine as her dad was still with her, but the mom in me sure hated to leave her! I knew it would be all good, and I was looking forward to the visit!! She was very nauseated for a little bit. I think they had already started to slow down the background meds and she wasn’t wanting to use her PCA pump to do too often. She was waiting for her breakfast tray to come around 930, which consisted of juice, Jello, yogurt, and applesauce. She’s really looking forward to trying some food. But the closest she could have to real food, for now, was liquidy soft food. They keep that soft liquidy diet until such time as her tummy is making more noises, and they needed her to be able to pass gas before they would allow much food.!! So the wait began, for the glorious moment!! We got her up to the chair and she’s resting quite well before we left. She had a sneak in visit with lil Bean also this morning! I think that made her feel a bit better also! I felt bad for her, she was feeling pretty run-down. Anyone who has spent any time in a hospital can totally relate I’m sure. The not sleeping soundly because of all this stuff going on, the catheter still in and just not being at home in her comfy bed was all starting to get to her. She is hoping the catheter would come out later that day! It all depended on how she was getting up and around.
Off we went for our quick overnight birthday trip and left Maddi to spend the time with her dad. She texted me quite often while we were gone, which was super ok with as it helped to ease my worrisome mama bear mind!
They took her catheter out on day 2 as well which was very nice for her to have one less tube thingy to worry about! By Saturday night she was pretty exhausted and really wanted to be home so she could sleep! This was hard for me as I knew the best place for her still was right where she was! 🙁

Around 8 that night, I received a super great text from her!! Her tummy was finally starting to wake up and that glorious moment happened! Yep, she tooted!! LOL and that meant she could have some real food!! She was craving a bagel, of all things she could have, she wanted a bagel!!

  • https://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/MjAxMi1mODM3ZWU1MTY3MDE3YTZm/?tagSlug=family

Day 3 Post Op

By Sunday morning she was able to have a bit more sleep but was in a horrible amount of pain. Which was understandable as they were cutting back the pain meds and also she was starting to move a bit more now too. She had quite a tingling pain on her left side that would not allow her to lay on that side, so that was a bit worrisome. Time will tell what comes of that but they weren’t overly concerned at this point.
She finally got her bagel Sunday morning, which she thoroughly enjoyed!
She had a visit with my parents on Sunday afternoon, and managed to eat some stir-fry for lunch!

When I arrived late Sunday afternoon, she was doing really well. We wheeled down to the Subway on the main floor and she had 1/4 of a sub. She walked part of the way down and then felt too tired so I drove the wheelchair for her! 🙂 It was nice to have her out of her room that day!

Day 3 night went well with no major complaints just the usual trying to sleep in hospital complaints!

Hopefully day 4 will be going home day!! Stay tuned!!

Until next time my friends be kind to yourself and look out for others! xo

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The big day!

We left the hotel in downtown Halifax around 9am. M was unable to eat breakfast this morning, which normally isn’t an issue, but of course this morning she wanted food. LOL I think it was more her just knowing she couldn’t eat though, and really she was doing great. She was allowed clear fluids that morning until 8am, she chose her Mountain Dew… lol but it was only a small sip! I couldn’t say no, considering it was clear, and it would be hours before she would be able to drink again! We made the quick drive over to the doggy daycare where Bean, our, no my, yorkie would spend the day playing. By the way, if you are ever in Halifax NS with a small pooch, be sure to check out Petite Urban Poochhttps://m.facebook.com/petiteurbanpooch/, fantastic staff, and a great playful atmosphere for your fur baby! Once Bean was happy playing we headed over to the IWK to begin this adventure.

  • M and Bean leaving Hotel
  • Lil buddy Bean
  • Bean at daycare

M remained in great spirits, she started to get a bit nervous as we sat in the day surgery area waiting for her nurse. She was fortunate to have her brother, ML ( son of my ex husband from his previous marriage) and his wife, TL, from Cape Breton, surprise her by coming to be with her! They were great to have around as they are very comical and are always fun to have around! Once we arrived at day surgery, and they called her in, we were given a room where we would meet with all the team that would be in the OR that day with her. The room was pretty full of her cheering squad that consisted of M, her dad T, her sister J , (who M is starting to look more and more like! )her brotherML, his wife TL, me and my fiancee. She certainly was well supported that day, and all the staff was great with all of us there! She changed into her wonderful Johnny shirt and then the visits began. The OR nurse came in to check all of her data in the system, and we signed the consent form. In preparation for the IV’s, she would be needing the nurse applies a numbing lotion on the backs of both of her hands, which she was really thankful for. The surgeon, Dr. El-Hawary came in to go over the procedure once more, he stated she would be in the OR for about 3-4 hours and then once she was awake enough we would be able to see her to recovery room staff would call us. Dr. E is one of the most calming, comforting and confident doctors I have ever met. He reassured us all, including M that all would go great, and he had no concerns at all! The anesthesiologist on that day was not the same one we had met earlier, today was an older German gentleman who we were told was very nice, but very short and to the point. LOL, We weren’t really sure how to take that, but it turned out he was wonderful, very quiet and to the point but had a neat sense of humor and a very calming and reassuring personality. By this time it was getting close to 1130 am which is when she was going to be going into the OR, the nurse came back to let us know that they were running a bit behind, so it would be about another 40 mins until they came for her. Ugghhh.. now she was really wanting to eat, and honestly so were most of us! Noone really wanted to eat because we felt bad for her not being able to eat! Kind of crazy I know but I’m sure some of you out there will relate!









  • Waiting to be called in


  • waiting waiting waiting
  • OR Nurse and M
  • Numbing cream being applied
  • Sisterly love…
  • Ugggg I dont wanna wait anymore!

The nurse finally came to say they were ready! No turning back now, off she went! She was a bit nervous, and I was insanely nervous, but think I hid it well. No real tears from either of us and for those of you that know me, know I cry at everything! I managed to keep the tears away! I knew if started I wouldn’t stop, this whole adventure has been such a roller coaster of emotions. She hugged the bear that TL had given her and off she went to the OR, yep even at 16, sometimes a soft cuddly bear is just what the dr ordered! It was the staff that suggested the bear fo with her into OR! That was awesome! Now the wait began for us! Her dad, ML, and TL remained at the hospital in the family waiting room, and J and I took off to the mall, to look for new jeans for J. I had a hard time leaving but knew if I stayed I would be overcome with anxiety, so off to the mall we went hopefully pass the time quickly. I was happy to have J there with me as I don’t get much time with her now that she doesn’t live at home anymore. So it was a good use of time for sure!
Her dad provided updates from the hospital and that really helped ease my mind and let me better enjoy my time with J. It took about 2 hours to get M prepped in the OR and make the first incision to install the device.
We made our way back to the hospital about 45 mins before Dr. E came out to tell us that all went well and we should be able to see her in about 20 mins. I remember seeing him come walking towards us, with a slight grin on his face and a Tim Horton’s coffee cup in his hand. For those who aren’t Canadian, Tim Horton’s is a must for many many Canadians. He looked so calm and relaxed. One would never think this laid back, coffee drinking, scrubs wearing guy, just finished changing life as they knew it, for 2 young girls today. He performed the same surgery in the morning before M’s! Let me tell you, that was such comforting news, and the wait would almost be over and we could see her!

M remained in great spirits, she started to get a bit nervous as we sat in the day surgery area waiting for her nurse. She was fortunate to have her brother, ML ( son of my ex husband from his previous marriage) and his wife, TL, from Cape Breton, surprise her by coming to be with her! They were great to have around as they are very comical and are always fun to have around! Once we arrived at day surgery, and they called her in, we were given a room where we would meet with all the team that would be in the OR that day with her. The room was pretty full of her cheering squad that consisted of M, her dad T, her sister J , (who M is starting to look more and more like! )her brotherML, his wife TL, me and my fiancee. She certainly was well supported that day, and all the staff was great with all of us there! She changed into her wonderful Johnny shirt and then the visits began. The OR nurse came in to check all of her data in the system, and we signed the consent form. In preparation for the IV’s, she would be needing the nurse applies a numbing lotion on the backs of both of her hands, which she was really thankful for. The surgeon, Dr. El-Hawary came in to go over the procedure once more, he stated she would be in the OR for about 3-4 hours and then once she was awake enough we would be able to see her to recovery room staff would call us. Dr. E is one of the most calming, comforting and confident doctors I have ever met. He reassured us all, including M that all would go great, and he had no concerns at all! The anesthesiologist on that day was not the same one we had met earlier, today was an older German gentleman who we were told was very nice, but very short and to the point. LOL, We weren’t really sure how to take that, but it turned out he was wonderful, very quiet and to the point but had a neat sense of humor and a very calming and reassuring personality. By this time it was getting close to 1130 am which is when she was going to be going into the OR, the nurse came back to let us know that they were running a bit behind, so it would be about another 40 mins until they came for her. Ugghhh.. now she was really wanting to eat, and honestly so were most of us! No one really wanted to eat because we felt bad for her not being able to eat! Kind of crazy I know but I’m sure some of you out there will relate!

Off they go!

The nurse finally came to say they were ready! No turning back now, off she went! She was a bit nervous, and I was insanely nervous, but think I hid it well. No real tears from either of us and for those of you that know me, know I cry at everything! I managed to keep the tears away! I knew if started I wouldn’t stop, this whole adventure has been such a roller coaster of emotions. She hugged the bear that TL had given her and off she went to the OR, yep even at 16, sometimes a soft cuddly bear is just what the dr ordered! It was the staff that suggested the bear fo with her into OR! That was awesome! Now the wait began for us! Her dad, ML, and TL remained at the hospital in the family waiting room, and J and I took off to the mall, to look for new jeans for J. I had a hard time leaving but knew if I stayed I would be overcome with anxiety, so off to the mall we went hopefully pass the time quickly. I was happy to have J there with me as I don’t get much time with her now that she doesn’t live at home anymore. So it was a good use of time for sure!
Her dad provided updates from the hospital and that really helped ease my mind and let me better enjoy my time with J. It took about 2 hours to get M prepped in the OR and make the first incision to install the device.
We made our way back to the hospital about 45 mins before Dr. E came out to tell us that all went well and we should be able to see her in about 20 mins. I remember seeing him come walking towards us, with a slight grin on his face and a Tim Horton’s coffee cup in his hand. For those who aren’t Canadian, Tim Horton’s is a must for many many Canadians. He looked so calm and relaxed. One would never think this laid back, coffee drinking, scrubs wearing guy, just finished changing life as they knew it, for 2 young girls today. He performed the same surgery in the morning before M’s! Let me tell you, that was such comforting news, and the wait would almost be over and we could see her!

There is no better feeling than seeing your baby girl.. lol, 16-year-old baby girl out from surgery! She was just as we were told she would be, groggy, emotional, and not quite herself! At the time, and still now, it’s hard not to chuckle at how groggy and all over the place she was! I was so relieved to see her, to see her sobs and hear her laughter, and crazy sedated thoughts she would share! She was teary and laughing and just a “sweet post op mess”!! Her biggest concern was the tape on her arm. She looked up and said, “is there tape on my arm?” to which I replied, umm yeppers there is some tape there. Her response,” Ohhhh man that’s gonna hurt coming off”! I had to chuckle, her biggest concern at that moment was the worry about having the tape ripped off!! No concern about the catheter still inside, no concern about the pain in her mouth from the tube they inserted during surgery ( and removed before she awoke), no concern about the 2 incisions in her back, no concern about the titanium rod that is now a permanent part of her ! So really life was pretty good for this post-op, emotional, silly gal! She had a bit of a blood blister on her bottom lip that we all, staff included, determined was from laying on the tube in her mouth during surgery and was nothing to be worried about. It kind of gave her a slight botox look on her lips! Lol, we laughed about that! After about 20 mins in the recovery area, the 7 Link staff came to wheel her to her room. Once settled in her room she was in good spirits, really groggy and spent the remainder of the day just sleeping. She was in quite a bit of pain as the night went on but was good at using the PCA pump to administer meds as she felt she needed. At this point, I was finally able to settle my nerves a bit knowing the hard part was over… for the time being. Living with anxiety makes settling and relaxing a bit of a challenge, to say the least. In my head, on one hand, I knew all would be ok, but then the anxiety sets in and starts messing with my mind. The pain she will be in, the struggles she will face with recovery, and a gammit of other useless worries that take over when they really shouldn’t be. So, as I leave her to rest, with her dad on night duty, I head back to the hotel to get some rest.

Feel free to subscribe to my blog so you can continue to follow this journey with us!! Great things will come I know it!!!

Until next time my friends, be kind to yourself and look out for others!

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Oh my gosh… this is really happening!

The day has come, our bags are packed and we are headed to Halifax! Surgery day has arrived!

Hard to believe the wait is over. All the prepping, all the stretching and all the waiting is pretty much over. Dropped her off at school to write 3 .. yep…3 tests the day before she leaves! She has really been a trooper, not a lot of complaining, just a tad when naggy mom reminds her of the importance of the pre-op stretching, but otherwise, she is fully ready for this next adventure!

bent but not broken…..lets do this!

She had her last horse riding lesson for a long while last night. I think this will be the hardest part for her, not being able to ride! The girls from the barn gave her a card and some chocolates. I think that is when it really sank in for her, that the time is here! The card they gave her was absolutely perfect and fits her to a tee!

  • M and Echo
  • Trunk is getting full
  • Fuzzy blanket and pillow.. a must!
  • Tough Cookie!

Mom, on the other hand, is keeping it together somewhat, but am filled with anxiety, worry, and just plain ol mom emotions! I am super grateful she is being offered this new procedure (http://apifix.com/en/), and I’m sure it goes without saying that anyone in their right mind would have their own bag of emotions as one of their babies prepares for this big surgery!

I am sure the next week will be filled with many more rollercoaster emotional rides! Spending time with my 2 girls, many hours at the hospital, visiting with family in the city and a trip to visit my fiancee’s mom for her 80th birthday, while my daughters father pulls single parent duty for one night! That is providing that all goes well and mom can pull herself away for a mere 24 hours!

Next post will be post op, and hopefully filled with much good news to pass on! Asking for well wishes and strength from you all until then!

Until next time my friends, be kind to yourself and as always, look out for others!

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Curvy Journey Pre-op day

Pre-op day started at an hour when most people are still asleep, lol, thanks to the lovely weather in eastern Canada. We had hoped to make the 4-hour drive to the IWK hospital in Halifax the day prior to her appt but a snow storm decided to change that plan.

  • Happy driver
  • Sleepy passenger

We woke at 0430 and were on the road by 5am to make our 1000am appointment. Miss Maddi slept most of the way over, which gave me time to wake up and jam out to my own tunes before she would take over the music selections!! LOL Despite the weather the day before the drive over was super clear and no issues!

Our appointments for the day!

We got to the hospital with not a lot of time to spare, finding parking in the parkade proved to be a challenge! Luckily we found a few open spots on the very top level of the parkade. By the time we parked, we had only about 5 mins to make it to our first check-in. Once we were checked in we made our way to the Day Surgery department to meet Maddi’s nurse Kim, who would be with her before the surgery, on surgery day. We answered a ton of typical medical history questions to what seemed like way too many people!! LOL Kim explained what to expect the day we arrived for surgery. We would need to check in for 1000am and her surgery is scheduled for 1230, oh yes …. also, no food or drink after 0400am surgery day, hmm 400am, the lovely hour this preop day started!!LOL, She explained that the surgery should take between 1.5 and 3 hours depending on how things go. While she was in surgery there is a family waiting room for us to hang out in and a nurse would come out every hour to give us updates on how things were going in the surgery room.
Before moving on to the next appts, we met Karen, the nurse who would be caring for Maddi following her surgery, and also the anesthesiologist Frank.
Karen reviewed all the questions Kim had already asked, to which we kind of chuckled, we felt like robots answering the same questions all over again. Karen explained all the “fun” things that would take place in the hours before, during and following her surgery. Needless to say, the talk of the dreaded catheter was none too appealing to Maddi. The needles, IVs, being put to sleep, etc didn’t really concern her but the darn catheter part was something she would rather not discuss. Lol or think about.

The remainder of the day following the surgery will be very uneventful. No food or moving the remainder of surgery day. She will be basically recovering in her bed, with the possibility of raising the head of the bed a bit should she feel up to it. She will have a couple of small incisions in her back, no really huge incisions, and the majority of her recovery will be focused on the muscle soreness and letting that settle down. Keep in mind her muscles have been constantly in a very different position from what they will be in post-op. They will be stretched out of the curved position that they been in for many years now. It was explained that a breathing tube would be placed and removed before while sedated, and the only way she would know it was there was the possibility of a sore throat after surgery. That was not really a highlight for her also, but the catheter is still worse than that though! Karen explained that they will have her pretty strong pain medication following surgery and as well she will have access to controlled amounts of extra pain meds that she can use as needed simply by pressing a button hooked up to iv meds. She explained that these extra meds could not be overused as the machine is set to only release meds every 6 minutes, up to the max dosages for her weight. Used this way, the meds will begin to give relief within 6 mins and if the pain was still too unbearable after the 6 mins she can medicate again at this point. This extra dose of meds may be needed as she starts to move more on day 2.
If she feels up for it on day 2 they will get her up and out of bed. Once she is able to move freely without much pain they will remove the catheter. Day 2 will be a happy day for her I am sure as she can finally try some food! I’m sure she will be happy with jello and popsicles for the first bit. Once she feels up to eating actual food, she can order from a restaurant-style menu. Within 40 mins of ordering her food, it will be delivered to her room. I found this pretty cool and much more appetizing than most other hospital food options I have seen in the past! Time will tell how this food thing goes!! LOL, I don’t recall seeing garlic fingers on the menu and that is her go-to food… So I’m sure we will be visiting the nearest pizza joint for her garlic fingers!

Day 3 she should be feeling a bit more human and hopefully moving around her room, oh right, I did not explain the room tour yet. After surgery, she will be in a private room with a single type bed and a chair, her own washroom, and shower. The plan is for her dad, who is flying in from Ontario, will stay with her at the hospital. My fiancee and I will be nearby at a local hotel. This will be nice for her to have some time with her dad, but I am not sure how I will be at leaving her!! I’m kinda a super protective mamma bear and hate being away from my kids. Lol, and seeing as she the only one left at home with me still, I am pretty pouty about leaving her!

After day 3, it really depends on how her recovery is going as far as what to expect next. They told us 4-5 days in the hospital and then she can go home. Seeing as we live 4 ½ hours away from the hospital we want to be 100% sure that she is feeling good and having no complications before we leave to head home.

  • Strecthing practice
  • Reach
  • Lean and stretch

So now it is off to physio and we already have information overload and its been about an hour so far, with much more to come as the day goes on…

Now we’re off to meet with physio….
The physio lady and her student in training were great, and for the life of me, their names have slipped my mind… story of my life! I will call them by name next write up I promise!!! They were super friendly, and you could tell they loved their job, hate to say it, but almost too friendly for a 16-year-old teenage girl who had been up for many hours already by this point! Apparently, the sleep on the drive over was not nearly as good as asleep in her own bed! The physiotherapist explained the exercised she would need to start doing in order to help her back and all upper body muscles be prepared for her surgery. We found out that once the surgery was done and she was recovering at home, these are the exercises that she would be required to do at home and that visits to a physiotherapist would probably not be needed. After all the talking was done we headed to the physio gym and she was able to practice each stretch in the gym. The photos show a few of what she will be doing. I must add, she was not all that thrilled about the pics mom was taking, but she did give the ok to continue being “that” mom :).

Once she felt comfortable with the stretches the physiotherapist told us she would be seeing Maddi the day after her surgery to go over this all again and to make sure all was going well.

  • Off to x-ray room
  • Lovin the blundstone look

Our next stop of the day was the x-ray department for her final x-rays before the surgery. The x-ray tech who met was a jolly fella originally from Texas. He had a great sense of humor and us both laughing as he explained what was next for her. She was going to be stretched out as straight as possible for the x-rays. This would allow the team to know what kind of movement was possible and to help with the surgery. This would also be used in her follow up and research purposes post-op, to help gather more the Apifix surgery and post-op recovery stats.
We had quite a wait for the x-rays as they were down one machine. By this point, it was getting near lunch and we were starving. We did have a lunch break assigned in our day’s activities but because things were running behind we didn’t have time to head down to lobby to eat. We lucked upon a junk food cart in the x-ray dept and dined on Doritos, peanuts, and pop while we waited for x-rays!

Once she was called in for X-rays and finished getting stretched, we headed to the Orthopaedic clinic to meet with Dr. El-Hawray and his team for his final words before the surgery day! He and his team are very supportive and explain everything so well. He told us that all the Apifix team are really confident that she will have great success with this surgery. He did say that her curve is the longest they have worked with so far but reassured us that they were confident all would work out. He and his staff did some measurements of the upper body and of the curve of her spine and we were then on our way to our second last appt of the day, the Pulmonary team to check her breathing!! YAHHH!!! We are exhausted at this point, and still had the 4 ½ hour drive home!!

  • Apifix team measuring her curve
  • Arm length!

In the pulmonary department she went into a little glass booth with 4 walls, and a breathing machine that she had to blow into a million times. Well ok not really a million times but I can tell you that I was getting dizzy and short of breath just watching her. The poor girl had to empty and fill her lungs so many times and it seemed so fast the speed they were having her do it. After about 20 mins inside the box, as she calls it, she was finally done and had they had the results they needed. So now an even more exhausted gal we wander off to find the photo office for the last appt of the day.

  • Pulmonary Function testing

After making our way to the hospital basement and wondering if we were ever going to find the right spot, we found Greg, the IWK photo guy! It was pretty sketchy down in the basement, his office is down with the laundry and other offices that could be featured in a horror movie!! LOL, ok fine, it wasn’t quite that bad but it was still creepy!

Maddi went and changed into the johnny shirt she needed to be in so she could bare her back for the camera! I got to help at this point and be the shirt holder! He took the 6 pictures needed and we wished him a lovely evening. We were finally free to start our journey home.

Tired, info overloaded and starving, we made our way to join the line up of 4 people to feed the one and only parking meter machine at this exit! It was the spot to be, a line of about 10 more people showed up right behind us! I can’t understand why they only have one money eater for such a large parkade, but oh well, we paid our parking headed to the truck.

Filling up the belly for the ride home!

We had been craving Taco Bell all day, odd I know, but there is no Taco Bell in the province we live in. We headed to Taco Bell on the way and then had a very quiet drive home, while you guessed it, Maddi slept peacefully while I jammed out to my own music selection.

So, that is the curvy journey so far folks.

We will be back with more once surgery day gets here!! In the meantime, feel free to join our March Break Journey to Edmonton and Banff, posts from that journey will be under the This N that tab.
Fingers crossed she stays healthy and doesn’t pick up any flu bugs on our journey, this would postpone her surgery!

Until next time my friends, be kind to yourself and look out for others.

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Curvy Journey-the beginning.

It was about 2 years ago when I noticed that my youngest daughter Maddi had an odd looking right shoulder blade. It was really sticking out more than the left side. We made a Drs appt and the journey began.

The Dr referred us to the IWK Children’s Center in Halifax where we met Dr. El-Hawary. He ordered a bunch of x-rays and took a bunch
of measurements of her spine. He confirmed that she has scoliosis. Now at this point in time, it really didn’t have much of an impact on her life, aside from now being aware that, yes, in fact, her back was not quite like most others. She was a bit self-conscious when wearing low back dresses or bathing suits, but really it didn’t stop her doing life just like all her friends.
We discussed what the future may bring and what the options were at this point.
Seeing as this was just diagnosed he sent us home with a return visit planned for about 6 months down the road. This 6 months would allow us all to see how the progression would be. We talked about the back brace option and also about physio to help slow the progression. Maddi decided that the brace was not something that she felt would be of significant help, and would negatively impact her day to day life much more than the natural progression. The curve up until this point hasn’t been causing her much pain, and isn’t affecting her health in any huge ways. She will get a sharp pain in her left side from time to time, and also has been grinding her teeth while sleeping, has quite strong jaw pain from time to time. We think her misaligned spine may have something to do with the jaw and grinding. Her dentist has taken xrays as well and will follow up with her post-surgery to see how the surgery affects the jaw and teeth issues.

After the 6 months or so had passed we returned to the IWK and had more x-rays and measurements done. The results showed that the Scoliosis was definitely progressing and that surgery was recommended. Dr. El-Hawary explained a relatively new procedure coming out of Isreal called Apifix ( http://apifix.com/en/) that was proving to be much less invasive and much less restrictive as compared to the typical go to surgery of fusion. Fusion in a nut shell is when a solid rod is implanted next to the spine to stop the spine from curving. For a more detailed explanation follow this link, https://www.webmd.com/back-pain/spinal-fusion-facts#1. The fusion surgery is quite a long procedure and once complete the person will have limited movement of the spine compared to the newer Apifix surgery. The downside to the Apifix is that because it is relatively new, from what I recall the first surgery performed in Canada was 3 years ago and the first ever surgery was 6 years ago, the long term outcomes are still unknown. We discussed as a family and Maddi mad it quite clear she wanted to go with the Apifix system. We fully supported her decision, and down the road is the Apifix proves to be ineffective, she can always have it removed and go with the fusion option.

Due to the fact that this is so new in Canada, her case had to be reviewed by the Apifix board and also by Health Canada. He assured us that he was confident that her case was very suitable for this procedure and he would send the requests off. We waited for the answers to come back as to whether this would be approved. It all seemed to happen quite quickly, the answer was yes and now we all realized that things were actually happening and she was headed for surgery. Maddi was quite excited as Dr El-Hawary explained she would gain bit more height, too which I frowned. LOL Maddi is already taller than me and likes to remind me of that often, so this was great for her!

It also meant that the summer coming up would be a very inactive summer for her compared to most in the past. She is an avid volleyball player and also loves spending time riding Echo, her favorite paint pony. Both of these will not be possible for about 6 months after surgery, but is an ok trade-off in order to have a less curvy back!
We received a call with a date for her surgery which is coming up at the end of March. It has been quite the journey so far and now as we prepare for surgery day, life seems to be going super fast! Throughout this all Maddi has had such a go-getter attitude and is really looking forward to being a part of this new procedure that seems to have very promising outcomes.

Be sure to subscribe to my blog, (link should be to the right),so will get notifications as the journey continues. Next up will be the pre-op appointment day, watch for it soon!

Until next time my friends, be gentle to yourself and look out for others.