One More Thing From Chicagoland

I forgot about this.  Dr. Gomez seemed pleasantly surprised at the great results from Craig's surgery last summer.  He's seen some bad outcomes in FA patients.  He was especially surprised that the surgery seemed to help his walking.  He said that for many patients their balance gets worse and their mobility is impaired.  That gave us a stronger appreciation for Craig's surgeon.  We feel very blessed and know that the timing of the surgery was key to its success.  Many surgeons would have waited until the curve was 50 degrees or more before deciding to operate.  Craig's was 38 degrees when the decision was made.  Once his doctor knew the cause of his scoliosis was neuro-muscular he knew the progression would continue.  Craig had started to develop a compensating curve in the lumbar region.  Had we waited, that curve would have gotten worse and would have needed to be addressed during surgery, which makes the surgery much more difficult, the risks higher and it tends to leave the patient less mobile.  The son of one of my childhood friends had scoliosis surgery last summer and came out of it paralyzed from the waist down.  I can't even imagine what that would be like.