Diagnosis 2 -OR- Lemonade out of Lemons

Chunky received his diagnosis about three months ago. Now Sassy has one. We definitely weren't expecting this.

Sassy has been having back issues for the past several months. The pain is mostly between her scapulae - thoracic region. She is in some degree of pain 24/7. It got really bad when she was in Europe four months ago and I made a Dr appt for her when she returned. They gave her high dose of ibuprofen, muscle relaxants and physical therapy. Unfortunately the therapy didn't make her feel better, in fact she felt worse so I told her to stop going after 8 appts. She went back to the Dr last week and they took x-rays. They called the following day to say they found something and scheduled an appt with orthopedist four days later (earlier this week). Orthopedist saw 7% curvature with a tool he used in office - one shoulder blade higher than the other (mild scoliosis), but was really fixated on what looks like left outside part of vertebra lower than inside (closest to spine) in a couple of places - causing "wedged" discs. He mentioned a condition I'd never heard of - Scheuermann's disease. She had an MRI later that day and two days later she was diagnosed with Scheuermann's disease, also known as juvenile discogenic back disease. We don't have all the details re: severity, if it could get worse, treatment options, etc. - orthopedist is contacting spine Dr to see if bracing will help her become pain free. Not knowing what's next is the worst. Dr did confirm no more competitive volleyball as they don't know if it will cause further harm and the pain alone is enough reason for her to discontinue. She's bummed her volleyball career is over - May 1st was her swan song after all. She has a positive attitude though - already been in touch with athletic director at her grade school about coaching opportunity for girls grades 5-8. That's my girl - making lemonade out of lemons!