Kamloops teen three inches taller following risky spinal surgery for scoliosis
A Kamloops teenager is all smiles and literally stands three inches taller after undergoing an intensive spine straightening surgery at BC Children’s Hospital in November.
Aubrey Spahmann, 13, went through two invasive surgeries to correct severe curves in her spine caused by scoliosis, a developmental condition that gets progressively worse if left untreated.
“It was intense, there was a lot of hardware involved, they manipulated the spine and put the rods up and screwed it all in place, it's pretty amazing what can be done,” her mom Tanya Spahmann said, adding the surgeries came with a lot of risk, including paralysis.
The surgery completely straightened Aubrey's spine from an 'S' shape, and the hardware will stay in place for the rest of her life.
“For the first surgery they cut my side and they started with rods and screws in it and pulled it to make it straight and the second surgery they cut my back open and did the rest and added more screws," she said.
The teenager was discharged from the hospital after just five days and is at home recovering, taking Tylenol and adjusting pillows to help manage the pain. The recovery will be long.
“I can’t bend from my back, I can bend from my hips, it’s getting a little bit better, I will be able to bend over one day,” Aubrey said. “For right now it’s completely straight up, permanent perfect posture.”
Emotionally the teen is missing her friends and is keen to return to school while keeping up her studies from a distance, and her friendships through social media.
“Some days are better than others but breakdowns happen,” she said. “It’s about not seeing my friends and missing them, that’s what causes emotional breakdowns.”
When asked what it’s like being three inches taller, Aubrey said “it was a new body experience.”
“At first I didn’t like being that tall, now I really like it, people just treat you better in public,” she said. “They just notice you more. The other day I was wearing a tight shirt and before my surgery I would never have worn those. I looked in the mirror and my back was completely straight and my heart just lifted.”
Scoliosis is a condition where a person's spine curves from side to side and there are a few different types. There are several different ways to treat the condition and the treatment selected depends on the type and size of the curve. Scoliosis affects 3% of all children, and is typically identified when a child is 4 to 9 years old or 10 to 17 years old, according to TheScoliClinic.
Aubrey’s older sister noticed the curve in her spine when Aubrey was nine-years-old.
“They don’t know why it (scoliosis) affects some people and it usually starts developing when puberty starts,” Tanya said. “Aubrey had a hump on one side and her spine was curved on the inside.”
Tanya said getting care for her daughter was a challenge. Like so many other British Columbians, they don’t have a family doctor.
“We’d phone the nurses hotline and they said to take her to emergency,” she said. “We tried a chiropractor but he can’t make diagnoses and said to go to emergency. Urgent care is just not set up for this kind of thing.”
The teen was diagnosed in the ER, referred to a pediatrician in town who referred her to the orthopedic team at children’s hospital who initially put her on a 2.5 year waiting list for surgery.
“It was frustrating, whichever child has the worst case gets in sooner,” Tanya said. “A year later her condition had progressed to over a hundred degree curve on her upper spine and a 60 degree curve on the lower. We finally got bumped up the list.”
The mother and daughter will be travelling back to Vancouver for a check up in January, and every few months afterward for the rest of the year.
“They don’t have that health-care delivery here, unfortunately,” Tanya said. “It’s been really challenging. She had staples and had them removed by the nurses here but that wouldn’t have happened without my advocating, we would have had to drive to Vancouver again for a 45-minute procedure.”
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Both mother and daughter could not express enough gratitude for the care they received at BC Children’s Hospital.
“I want people to know how nice the nurses in the OR and recovery were, and how nice the physiotherapists there are,” Aubrey said. “One was really motivational and supportive, one was really funny.”
Tanya agreed.
“Children's is just an incredible experience with private rooms, the health-care delivery is so good once you get in,” she said. “It’s much more personalized care than what you get anywhere else. It’s the way healthcare should be everywhere.”
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When asked what message Aubrey has for other young people going through surgery for scoliosis, she said self love.
“They should love their body before surgery. Looking at photos of myself now, the (scoliosis) looked bad but it wasn’t the end of the world. I thought it was the end of the world when I had it but its really not.”
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Aubrey will be returning to school next month.
Both mother and daughter said they are deeply grateful for the support and encouragement they’ve received from community connections, friends and family through this difficult time.
They are hoping people will consider donating to the BC Children's Hospital as well the Royal Inland Hospital.
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