Caro Rossouw (14), a Grade 8 learner at El Shaddai Christian School, and her parents, Jaco and Beulah, flew to Istanbul in Turkey this past Monday for a procedure called Vertebral Body Tethering (VBT) or Anterior Scoliosis Correction, a procedure which was pioneered in the USA about seven years ago.
Her day starts at 05:40 when she gets up in order to do her 45-minute daily Schroth therapy exercises before preparing for school, and ends when she straps herself back into her brace for the night, her father, Jaco, says.
“Despite her commitment and sacrifice, her curve has not shown any improvement and the emotional impact is ongoing and a daily challenge for her to overcome. Many of the simple pleasures that teenage girls love to do, such as going to the beach, swimming with friends, buying clothes and sleepovers, were becoming increasingly difficult for her.
“Because she is skeletally immature with significant remaining growth, she has a very high chance of curve progression. Left untreated, it usually continues to progress at an average of one degree per year. Significant spinal deformity leads to noticeable changes in appearance, such as shoulders that are not level, ribs on one side of the body that stick out further than on the other side, uneven hips, and a shift of the waist and trunk to the side.
Caro enjoys music and achieved Unisa Grade 4 in both piano and flute, but had to give up the flute due to her spine problem. She also had to give up horse riding, another of her passions.
“The good news is that Caro is a perfect candidate based on her remaining growth. This is essential in order to make full use of the principle of bone growth modulation to straighten the spine. The bad news is that according to her latest X-rays this needs to be at the latest by year end,” he says.
With time not on their side to first raise funds before the operation, they decided to take a leap of faith and create a funding campaign on GoGetFunding to raise funds towards the costs of the surgery.
“We are painfully aware that there are millions of deserving causes and even more demands on your resources. If you can afford to donate to Caro’s cause, we will be forever grateful. If you cannot, then spare us a thought and a prayer and know that you are blessed and appreciated regardless,” Jaco says.
Visit https://gogetfunding.com/caros-spinal-surgery/ to make a donation.
