The Adventure Has Begun! 

For those of you just tuning in, I will give you a brief background as to how we ended up on this little journey: Levi was born with congenital defects in his spinal column known as kyphosis (scoliosis in the neck), as well as scoliosis in his shoulder/back. In the three years since he was born, we have learned a lot about his 'condition', and just recently, ways to overcome it. 

If left untreated, the kyphosis/scoliosis would present a high risk of damage to his spinal cord, as well as pulmonary issues, back and neck deformities...the list goes on. Since the kyphosis (90 degree curve in his neck which includes a roller coaster-like twist) is already at such a high level of severity, the sooner they treat him, the safer (relatively) it will be to do so. 

Already having a great team of specialists in Boise, we were referred to Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, to see Dr. John Smith, an orthopedist specializing in Scoliosis. He suggested placing Levi in 'Traction' to stretch his neck as much as possible for four weeks, in order to create room for spinal surgery and fusion. The surgery is high risk, but (insert answered prayer here) we have been blessed with some of the most experienced, sought-after surgeons in the world. As a quick example, Dr. Smith just returned from Japan, where he was the guest speaker at a conference on Scoliosis. He is now currently in Ireland for the same thing... Also, his doctor here at Shriners Hospital is the dude that invented the treatment known as Traction...yep. Levi is hanging with some smart folks this month. 

Now that you're caught up on the why, we will tune in to the how...