During a routine scoliosis check in school, Samantha received some alarming news. She was diagnosed with scoliosis and her spine had grown into an S shape.
After meeting with multiple doctors and specialists, Samantha’s family decided to come to Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware to meet with Dr. Suken Shah, pediatric orthopedic surgeon. Due to the severity of the curve, Dr. Shah determined that a posterior spinal fusion was needed to correct her spine and prevent pain and disability in later life. Samantha was nervous but determined. She continued dancing, her passion, up until the day of her surgery.
Her determination continued as she was able to stand within hours of her surgery, and walked the hospital halls the next day thanks to excellent pain management and the Nemours rapid recovery pathway. She was also thrilled to learn she had grown a couple of Inches!
Not sure she would ever dance again, Samantha worked hard with PT to get her back into dancing perfection. One year after surgery, she danced as the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker!
She was surprised to find that her center of gravity had become truly centered when she returned to dance – she hadn’t even realized how she had been compensating for her curved spine all those years.
