Ashtin was born with Spinal Tethering. Basically, when she was developing, the part of the fetus that develops into the skin and the part that develops into the spinal cord and spine didn't seperate the way it should have. This caused a sinus tract (like a straw) to form from just under her skin, down through the layers of muscle and spine and connected to the spinal cord. As she grew, it put tension on the tract and spinal cord b/c it could only grow so much. This caused nerve damage in her spinal cord and we were told that if she didn't have surgery to "release" the tethering, she would have more nerve damage. They also told us that it could mean that she would loose function of her legs, bladder and bowels.
We decided it was time to have the surgery when she started complaining of back pain. She was only 1 1/2 and we had a very hard time deciding what to do but felt that it was the right thing. In April 2008, she had the surgery done at Riley Children's Hospital.
We still have to go to Riley for check-ups but she seems like it has helped. She isn't as cranky and crabby as she used to be. She still complains of back pain so we have to keep an eye on everything but it seems for the most part, she is doing well.
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