Rihanna's Scoliosis Journey

Dear Friends and Family
 

           The story we are about to relate in public, is not only personal but also to bring awareness to parents like us. Have your children  screened early and yearly for scoliosis. Ask your medical provider and perhaps at school to check children more often for scoliosis because I am about to lay out a truthful and  despairing story. First of all, thank you so much for taking the time in reading Rihanna's  story. Rihanna is our first born , she is an active, smart,  and extremely talented 11 years old young lady.
         Last year she was involved in several sport programs at school also reading and singing in chorus , dancing hip-hop  and a honor roll student. However, this year we discovered that Rihanna has an aggressive case of Scoliosis with S curve of 49.8 degrees thoracic and 33.5 degrees lumbar, including a twisted spine.We also discovered that she has a genetic malformation called Chiari (CM) a structural defect in the area of the brain , which caused her to build up fluid in the spinal cord called syrinx. It was both shocking and painful for the family to know she has been suffering from this condition and would continue to suffer if drastic steps were not taken immediately.  Therefore, that's how our painful story begins. After a lot of research around the area, we contacted a few doctors who specializes  in  Scoliosis such as Phoenix Children Hospital, Gilbert and Mesa Chiropractic Clinic, in the hope of having a feasible treatment for our daughter. In conclusion after all the appointments completed, the only option offered by the medical providers , was Spinal Fusion Surgery. Our believes could not accept that Rihanna 11 years old, will not be able to have no other option than a risky surgery like any other, not mentioning  that the spine is involved.  Hence, we started researching more, and we came across a Scoliosis Care Center located in Campbell California(www.scoliosiscarecenter.com), who treats kids with scoliosis and they are having great results, with not only preventing curves from getting worse, but with getting curves straighter and  lower degree. How can we not give this a chance, with "no knife" involved. The catch is that medical insurance companies do not want to pay for anything more for scoliosis patients than future surgeries. We know that this is not new news for anyone that reads this, medical insurances have the tendency to not cover noninvasive treatments they would rather pursue invasive treatments such as surgeries, even though they are more expansive. Yes, surgeries because it seems to never be just one surgery but a number of them as they age, at least in this case.  Moreover, we were placed in a challenging position both emotionally, physically, spiritually, and financially. Therefore, we'll have to pay for Rihanna's medical treatment out of pocket, which will get even more expansive, but in order to prevent surgery it is worth every penny.  We started an intensive program in February of 2019, that already cost us $ 30,000  for the first three weeks of treatment and personal medical equipment, without personal expanses. Our journey will continue with going back to California every three months for the next 4 to 5 years. This will include the check up , one week of intensive therapy, including any adjustments to the traction chair and to the personalized brace. All this will cost us $ 4,000 to $ 5,000 each time, again not including personal expanses. Rihanna will continue this therapy treatment until her body will reach full growth maturity. Her growth is measured via Riser scale 0-5, at this time she is rated a 0. Thus, our brave Rihanna has a long way to go,  and a lot of growth to do. On the positive side, due to her young age  and room to grow, it was necessary to start this treatment as soon as possible so her treatment can lead to success without surgery. Some of the risks would be,  as the curves get worse so do the twist in the spine, that may start to impact her lungs and heart. On a daily basis, Rihanna goes trough specific physical exercises to get her Core stronger, besides the traction chair that she already "hates and cries" about it, three times a day. 
        We are thankful for this opportunity that came along in our life to bring our Rihanna back to her norm as possible. Now more than ever we need your prayers and good deeds. We are thankful, humble, and appreciate our family, friends, and people open to help, from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide us, and please share her GoFundMe with everyone you know. We are hoping for the best and will continue to post updates related to her therapy treatment.
www.gofundme.com/rihanna039s-scoliosis-journey