A New Twist

Or, more aptly, a curve ball.

This weekend we were certain his back was getting worse. If you run your hand along his side, you can feel the edge of one of his ribs - the tip of it - as if it's not entirely there. The whole back/shoulder area was looking really distorted and we were alarmed. So alarmed, in fact, that we could not sleep that night. We were anxious to call the nurse practitioner and have her order a new set of x-rays.

We reached someone Monday morning who ordered the x-rays for us. John took him back because we ran too late to bring them to my sister-in-law's, and said he stood up nicely for the pictures again. We called and called all day long for the results, leaving messages to no avail. Again, John called all day today asking for an update and no one returned the call.

Just after 7PM tonight the phone rang and it was Jack's surgeon's nurse. She said she had the x-rays and they didn't look worse - they actually looked, despite the likelihood, BETTER. John pressed and asked for a measurement and she put him on hold.

She came back and confirmed the original x-ray was somewhere between 65-70 (yes, we were told 70 at his appointment. The official doctor's measurement came back at 68 we found out yesterday).

She said, "I can't believe it - but it's 55." FIFTY FIVE. This is beyond what bracing could do - bracing stabilizes, at best, and often doesn't even do that. For a curve to IMPROVE - not stabilize but IMPROVE 13 degrees is unheard of!!!!! She said she'd send them up to the doctor and see if his treatment plan changes at all, in light of this new development.

I don't want to project ahead and even begin to think that it means all is right with the world and this will resolve entirely on its own, but I am spinning at the moment.

I can't even comprehend this - it's so not what I expected.

I've just sent an email to the coordinator of the training program to see what, if anything, this means for the casting. I don't know if it means that he's not a candidate - because it's no longer considered "progressive" - or if it just means he could respond even better to the casting. I just - don't know now.

Fifty five.

The power of prayer astounds me once again.