Hope

Hope isn't something I felt since Massimo had been diagnosed with Scoliosis. It all started with the Dr. at Children's telling me his curve was at 43 degrees and we should "start thinking" about treatment! When he showed me Massimo's xray and I saw the curve, I became hopeless. He told us to come back in 6 months and see where he was then.
I knew this wasn't right. I went on the Internet and found out about casting as an option...I starting having a glimmer of hope for my boy.
After our appointment at Shriner's with Dr. Sturm, I started to get a tiny more hopeful but still had my doubts of whether or not this would make Massimo's spine straight. After Massimo's 1st cast, we were down from 43 to 32! Hope started to grow in my heart. We had so much support and prayers from our family and friends! This also gave me hope. After Massi's second cast, he developed a rash and a cough. He had to wait 2 months before getting cast #3....the hope started to diminish. Finally, He was casted for cast #3 and had improved to 25 degrees. Massimo recently received his 4th cast in May and he was down to 11 degrees!!! I know once you get to 10 or below, you may be closer to being cast free!!! Hope began to rise again!  We will find out his numbers from cast #4 on aug. 9 which will mark Massi's one year anniversary of being casted.
BUT, what has heightened my hope is a little boy named Jackson Miller!!! He has been casted for 19 months and has reached the dream that all of us moms want to achieve for our babies.....the end of casting.....a straight spine!! Chrissy, his mom has always been a pillar of strength for me through our journey with casting. I am beyond happy for her and Jackson! This huge milestone has raised my hope to where I see the end for Massi and casting! I dream of the day we hear,"This is his last cast" My heart is filled with hope that Jackson will someday speak about his journey with Scoliosis and encourage other parents and kids to go with the casting option. Of course I envision this with Jackson wearing a Superman shirt :)!! Thank you Jackson for giving me more hope than I have ever had for Massimo!