When she was 12, she was diagnosed with severe thoracic scoliosis. They measure curvature of the spine by degrees...anything under 25 degrees, and they pretty much leave it alone. Anything over 45, they start looking at surgery. And the surgery they do is pretty horrendous--fusing a rod to the spine, limiting mobility, but preventing further progression of the curvature, which, itself, can eventually be disabling.
A slight curvature was detected at a routine middle school screening, and the pediatrician wanted to watch it for a year to monitor the progression. At her checkup a little more than a year later, the curve had progressed so rapidly (to 44 degrees) that we were immediately sent to consult with the local orthopedic surgeon. He took one look at it, and said it was too advanced for him to do anything, and immediately sent us to Primary Children's Medical Center, 4 hours away in Salt Lake City.
Our first visit with the pediatric surgeon was pretty dismal. He said the severity and placement of her curve (right over her lungs) meant that if it progressed at the current rate, she would end up in a wheelchair, gasping for breath, unable to breath and in chronic pain. This was devastating to my swim-team, snow-boarding, track-star, very active and athletic daughter! The surgeon said we needed to start looking at surgical options, as her curve was measuring 44 degrees. But he said he would give us 1 year to try and halt the progression. His solution: a hard, plastic, molded brace that went from lower hips to armpits, to be worn 18 hours a day. Because the purpose of the brace was to encourage the spine to grow in more normal patterns, the brace was molded so that while wearing it, my daughter's spine was nearly straight...this meant the brace had to force her crooked spine into the 'correct" position. Translation: the brace held her body in an awkward, un-natural position, with one shoulder higher than the other, and her body slightly turned off-center. And she was supposed to wear this contraption to school, every day. It was supposed to be worn under her clothing, but even the baggiest of clothing couldn't hide that horrible brace! I watched my poor daughter wear baggy sweatshirts all day, every day, even in 90 degree weather. It was heartbreaking. But that is another story, for another post!
When I asked the surgeon about alternative therapies, he scoffed at the idea...But when we left his office after the first visit, I KNEW there was something out there that was going to help us! After much prayer and searching, and looking into every alternative therapist I could think of (massage therapists, physical therapists, something called ROLFing, and many, many more), we were led to a chiropractor that specializes in Chiropractic BioPhysics (also known as a CBP Chiropractor). CBP is the most researched specialty field in Chiropractic care, and is very, very successful in adolescent scoliosis. He uses traction to re-train the muscles in the back to hold the spine in a new position. The surgeons at Primary Childrens had told us our only hope was stopping the progression of her curve...if we could do that, we may avoid surgery. the chiropractor believed we could actually REVERSE the curve. Finally, we had some hope!
We began an intensive, 3 times weekly regiment of spinal adjustments and traction, all while continuing to wear the brace. Every 3 months, the chiropractor took new x-rays to see if we were getting reversal of her curvature. Every time he took x-rays, the degree of her spinal curvature had lessened by 3-6 degrees. Every 6 months we were traveling to Salt lake to have new x-rays taken, in the hopes that their x-rays would support the results being reported by the chiropractor. During this time, we were also having energy work done, to re-pattern and re-balance disruptions in the energy field, which in turn affects the physical body it governs. Using muscle response testing, we were able to identify the energetic imbalances that were directly related to the scoliosis. It was at this time that I had my first introduction to the generational component of energy healing. The therapist was able to identify some emotions and false beliefs that were inherited from Brooke's paternal great grandfather. Because emotional energies always "live" somewhere in the body field, they eventually will affect the tissues, organs and body systems in that part of the physical body. We were able to determine where these particular emotions had lodged....directly on her spine! We were able to clear these negative energies, thereby removing the negative frequencies that were affecting the spine. After sharing this information with my husband, I learned that the paternal grandfather she inherited these particular emotions from had been in a wheelchair, suffering form polio. To keep a long story from getting longer, I'll jump to the end....
After 2 years of treatment, it became clear that the chiropractor, along with the energy work, was getting results that the pediatric surgeons said was impossible. We threw the brace away, and never looked back! Today, her x-rays show a correction of the curvature from 44 degrees (almost needing surgery) to 27 degrees (almost to the point where no intervention is needed). She still see's that same chiropractor today, 3 years later, but only once a week, to maintain her progress until she is finished growing. She is happy, healthy, and completely active. She lives without pain or disability of any kind.
We know we will have to continue chiropractic visits at least once a week for the next several years as she continues to grow, but surgery is "off the table". She will be okay. Everything will be okay!
She had some wonderful, faith promoting experiences during this trial. She knows, without a doubt, that Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. She knows fasting has great power, and that the prayers of others really do make a difference. And we both know that sometimes you have to go through some pretty hard stuff to learn the things Heavenly Father wants you to learn.
We also learned there is far, far more out there in terms of healing and addressing health issues than just the limited options we were presented by conventional medicine. The body is more complex, and multi-layered....and more wonderful and fascinating and amazing than I had ever imagined! This experience opened many, many doors for me in terms of understanding how the body works, and the many healing methods that are available to learn about and study. As I've studied and learned more about how to help the body heal on many different levels, one of the greatest blessings I have received is the ability to actually use the knowledge I have gained in doing good and helping others. Somehow, often in the most amazing ways, Heavenly Father has helped those who can benefit from what I have studied to find me, and always, they have been prepared for the information I share with them.
Read "An Introduction to Energy Medicine" to learn more!