Friday, May 2, 2014

17 year old Corbyn – underwent scoliosis surgery for a 50 degree T6-L2 curve and a 5 cm trunk shift


Three days after her scoliosis surgery, Corbyn, a 17 year old dancer and athlete from Granite Quarry, NC, was sitting up taller and straighter in her hospital room. With the support of her family, I met Corbyn as she was preparing for her two-hour trip back home. This sparked my interest in how often and how far families will travel for the right medical care. For several years, Corbyn’s doctor monitored her growing curve.  However, it was not until Corbyn’s mother noticed her daughter’s rapidly increasing trunk shift that she sought out a second opinion and came across Dr. Hey online. They initially made the trip because of Dr. Hey’s credentials, but chose to remain under his care after the encouraging words and compassionate care of the Hey Clinic team. Shortly after her surgery, Corbyn and her mother were already amazed by her significantly straightened posture. As a high school senior, whose dancing and cheerleading required Corbyn to find unique ways to center her balance, her family is very excited about how her surgery will transform her sense of balance. Everyday at the Hey Clinic, we are fortunate to meet families who will make the trip to Raleigh, NC. We are grateful to always be inspired by families like Corbyn’s who remain optimistic and will travel the distance to receive medical care from Dr. Hey and his team. 



Thursday, May 1, 2014

Jennifer Sends Photographs of her Cruise, 6 Months after Surgery


Our 62 year old patient sent us pictures of her most recent cruise vacation. 6 months ago, she had a T3 to iliac wing revision extension instrumentation and fusion surgery to correct her PJK (Proximal junctional kyphosis) at 47 degrees. She is looking great, and we are very glad to see she is having a wonderful time! 


Friday, April 25, 2014

Some of our Most Recent Post-op Visitors & Thank You Notes



Hannah: “I’m from Greenville, North Carolina, and it has been a year since my scoliosis surgery. It’s helped me walk better. It’s improved my dance and volleyball, and I want to thank all of you for help during surgery and for helping me to get back to recovery. Thank you!

Hannah’s mom: “Thank you Dr. Hey and all the staff at the Hey Clinic and at the hospital- you’ve been great!”

Hannah’s dad: “You guys are awesome!”

14 year old and her family visit the Hey Clinic 1 year after surgery to correct Hannah’s scoliosis curve measuring 37 degrees from C7-T6 and 40.5 degrees curve from T6-L2.


 

Have you ever wondered how long until you can exercise again after scoliosis or kyphosis surgery? Or maybe your spinal deformity has prevented you from being active? Joel, 6-weeks after his kyphosis surgery, has become increasingly more active. He spoke to us about tracking his activity level over the next months/year, so that he can follow his progress with playing sports and exercising. More to come on his results. Everyone reacts differently to surgery, but it is always helpful for others contemplating surgery to follow someone during their recovery and experience their improvements.   

Here’s Joel’s story:

Joel: “I had a kyphosis curve (you can see it on the screen in the video) at 75 degrees. I was in a lot of pain and wasn’t able to play any sports, lift any weights, exercise or do any of the things I wanted to do. So, I gained a lot of weight. And so I had the surgery done and lost most of it simply by walking and being able to walk. I’m really thankful to Dr. Hey, his staff, all the nurses over at Duke Raleigh, and everyone that helped take care of me. I am extremely grateful and will forever be grateful for everything that has happened to me.”

Joel’s mother: “And I would like to thank the Hey clinic and the staff over at Duke Raleigh Medical for the care they gave my son. He is doing extremely well. And I would like to thank the Lord Jesus Christ for bringing us through this hill in our life. “


Rachel’s creative way of thanking everyone at the Hey Clinic. She is a very skilled artist!
 

And a note from Morgan:
“During one of the scariest days of my life, I took a chance on Google to help me find a doctor that could help fix my scoliosis. Thankfully, I was led to your website. Since our first meeting in November, I have thanked God for sending me to you. What was, hands down, the most serious procedure I have ever underwent was mad peaceful by knowing that first and foremost you were working with God. I cannot thank you enough for everything you have done, and for everything you stand for. ‘And if our God is with us, then who could ever stop us? And if our God is with us, then what can stand against us?’ May God continue to Bless you!” - Morgan



Monday, March 31, 2014

Here are some Hey Clinic Guests We've Just Seen Back Recently.....


Nikki, our nursing student who had scoliosis surgery with us 3 months ago sent us this note and video of her doing a cart-wheel this weekend!
6:31 PM (2 hours ago)
to me
3 months post op!

Thanks so much!

Nikki 





Jarrian, and adolescent idiopathic scoliosis postop patient tells his story last week at Hey Clinic!



Is there any hope for adults with severe kyphosiscoliosis?


7 weeks postop from L4-Iliac wing instrumentation and fusion seen this past Friday at Hey Clinic with big smile!!


Emma, 6 weeks postop from complex adult scoliosis reconstruction shares her story before and after surgery







"Curved Inspirations" Marcia Delbarone Book Interview -- out on YouTube


Here is my interview with Marcia Delbarone this past Friday, discussing her new book, "Curved Inspirations, which I wrote about last night in the blog.   Hopefully Marcia's shared journey will be helpful for other families facing the life-long effects of scoliosis, for either teens, younger adults, or middle and older-age adults.

Dr. Lloyd Hey
Hey Clinic for Scoliosis and Spine Surgery
http://www.heyclinic.com