ATIVESITE | Straight to Care | Cincinnati Children’s

http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org

Growing up in West Virginia, Jaden Griffey was a happy and very active child. She loved playing sports, riding her dirt bike, and drawing until aches and pains made it difficult to do the things she loved.
“It was hard to eat, but I didn’t think of anything of it,” said Jaden Griffey. “And I noticed it a little bit, my back was like bigger on one side than the other.”
“The doctor said she had scoliosis and I was like in shock,” said Donna Griffey, Jaden’s mom. “Because she’s telling her it was really bad. And then when we got the X-rays and seen them, it was my worst nightmare.”
Her curvature was greater than 70 degrees, and the severity of it was impacting Jaden’s breathing and digestion. The family initially tried to get treatment closer to home, but after numerous delays, Jaden’s mom wanted other options.
“By that time, she was in a lot of pain, laying in the bed, she didn’t want to do nothing,” said Donna Griffey. “She couldn’t eat without it hurting. She was having a lot of difficulty breathing and I was ready to get the ball rolling.”
Telehealth with regional licensure in West Virginia made it possible for Cincinnati Children’s doctors to first learn of Jaden’s case. Multi-disciplinary relationships connected pulmonary medicine to the spine center.
“She was referred to our pulmonary colleagues, and they quickly realized that this is a patient that needs to be seen and taken care of quickly. Her spine was actually twisting her airways,” said Viral Jain, MD, pediatric spine surgeon. “We were able to get her care very quickly.”
The day after her surgery, Jaden was up testing her straightened spine.
“It hurt really bad,” said Jaden. Her mom asked her, “Was it worth it?” Jaden responded, “Oh yeah, it was.”
“She was ready to go when they came in, physical therapy and occupational therapy, the very next day. She knew it was painful but knew she had to do it in order to heal up and get back to where she wanted to be,” said Donna Griffey, Jaden’s mom.
“I think she will be even more active than what she was before,” said Dr. Jain. “Because of her young age, and her growth potential and ability to recover. I think she will have an excellent recovery from scoliosis standpoint.”
In her follow up appointment about a month later, Dr. Jain gave Jaden the all clear to do physical therapy back home and get back to doing some of the things she loves.
“You’re a star,” said Dr. Jain.
“A lifetime of seeing her get to do the things that she wants to do,” said Donna Griffey. “I hate that it happened to her, but since it did happen to her, I’m glad I brought her out here to Cincinnati Children’s. Because I think she got the best care of anywhere else I could have taken her.”

Click in Cincinnati Childrens