Roxanne’s spinal surgery in the USA was a big success
Roxanne will need further surgery in four years, when she outgrows the rods
THE family of Roxanne Nolan (8), who fundraised to take her abroad for an operation to cure her rapidly-progressing scoliosis of the spine, have told that her surgery was a success and that she has recovered well. Roxanne, who lives in Carlow town, was unable to get on a waiting list for surgery in Ireland and so had to go to the USA for the life-changing operation.
“She’s not had any issues or problems with it. So far, so good. She bounced back after about five days after surgery and kind of went off all pain meds,” said Roxanne’s mother Maírín Nolan.
Before the surgery, Roxanne’s scoliosis had progressed from 80 degrees, but she was unable to be placed on this country’s waiting list for scoliosis surgery owing to the complexity of her case and the large backlog. According to Máirín, Roxanne’s scoliosis was first flagged at two years of age and if her scoliosis progresses to 130 degrees, she will be unable to eat or breathe properly.
Roxanne was born with Arthrogryposis, a rare condition where a child doesn’t move enough and so the joints do not develop properly.
The family fundraised €60,000 to cover the costs of Roxanne’s surgery through a mix of fundraising events such as the , which took place in March, and donations to Roxanne’s GoFundMe page. Her family have previously fundraised for surgery to correct her legs, which she had last year, as they were stuck in a twisted position.
In May, Roxanne and her family travelled to America for the surgery, which saw two magnetic rods placed in her spine to straighten it. Maírín explained that the magnetic rods that the doctor placed on Roxanne’s spine will work like a pair of braces and need tightening every three to six months. However, as Roxanne’s rods are magnetic, they won’t have to make an incision every time they tighten them as the rods can be lengthened by a special machine.
Roxanne will need further surgery in four years, when she outgrows the rods.
“She’s able to get on with her life now and forget about surgery for a while as she’s had a number of major surgeries over the last couple of years,” Maírín said. “She’s just delighted.”
The challenge now for the family is finding a practitioner in Ireland to carry out the lengthening of the rods, as otherwise the family will have to travel to Poland, where Roxanne’s surgeon has a practice, multiple times a year to have the procedure carried out.
When asked what would have happened if Roxanne did not get the surgery, Maírín pointed to stories of other children who waited for years for spinal surgeries and have had worse health outcomes, as in the case of Harvey Morrison (9), who passed away.
“That’s why we were so determined to get her the surgery abroad,” Maírín said. “She wouldn’t even have had her legs done if we hadn’t gone away. It would have just been terrible.”
