Today's Article

"I was very stressed about it."

Before she was treated, Taylor spent most of her time in a 3brace. 

"I know my daughter that she wouldn't want to be braced for years and we knew we needed to have the surgery." 

After lots of research, the family chose Shriners Children's Philadelphia. 

"These are actually titanium screws that are 4placed into the 5vertebra." 

Dr. Amer Samdani was part of the first team to test vertebral body tethering (VBT) for the FDA. Instead of a 6rod that's used in traditional surgery for scoliosis, VBT uses a flexible cord. 

"If you take a look, you know the tether allows the spine to move. If there was a rod in here, the spine would not be allowed to move. And I'm thrilled to say that Shriners Hospitals for Children 7played a huge role in bringing tethering to the market in 2019. And now it's 8utilized in over 50 or 60 centers around the U.S." 

Taylor had the tethering surgery three years ago. Taylor says she had six weeks of recovery and now she's fine. 

"I can do any sport, I can still sing and dance and act." 

"So it doesn't 9interfere with your life?" 

"No." 

Taylor says having her back tethered was a 10slam dunk for her.

"I think I am 11incredibly lucky to be able to get something like this because I know a lot of children can't and it's just I am so 12overwhelmedwith 13gratitude for it all."