Teenager hopes to become taller after scoliosis surgery

Christmas came early for Mariah Jones, the 16-year-old point guard for the Natchitoches Central basketball team, who recently underwent scoliosis surgery at Shriners Hospitals for Children-Shreveport.

Christmas came early for Mariah Jones, the 16-year-old point guard for the Natchitoches Central basketball team, who recently underwent scoliosis surgery at Shriners Hospitals for Children-Shreveport.

Mariah Jones, left, and her mother, Tracy, prepare to leave the Shriner’s Hospital for Children-Shreveport recently following Mariah’s scoliosis surgery.


Her request of Santa was simple: "I'm hoping the surgery makes me a little taller. And I hope I can get back to playing soon."

At 5-foot-1 and with the wisp of a willow tree, Jones is a bundle of energy that even major surgery has trouble slowing down. Just three days past her operation, the teenager already was talking about getting back on the basketball court, something that's not likely to happen this season.

"Mariah's so pushy. She asked the doctor this morning before she left, 'Hey, can I go with the team on the bus to a game after Christmas?'" said her mother, Tracy Jones.

Twice as common in girls as in boys, scoliosis is an abnormal curvature of the spine. It can develop at any age, but usually occurs after the age of 10 and can be treated with observation, bracing or surgery depending on the severity of the curve and the risk of it getting worse, according to MedicineNet.com.

Mariah's grandmother began noticing her "walking crooked" during the summer, and she began having severe pain after practices not long afterward. Jones went for a consult in August and the scoliosis diagnosis was confirmed in September.

The Jones family hoped to stall surgery until after basketball season, since Mariah had won the starting position as a sophomore on what has traditionally been a very strong high school basketball team. But the pain made that impossible.

"At first there was no pain, but it increased as the months passed. Like after practice I would be slouched over and there was a lot of pain," said Mariah, who received daily treatments in her mid-back area from the trainer. "The freeze was like Icy Hot, it would kind of numb it for awhile."

Tracy Jones took her daughter back for another check-up, and the doctor said the curvature had progressed by about 8 percent.

"They said there would be more pain, and falling on the court would add more to it. And they said it was pushing on my organs," Mariah said.

Doctors decided she needed the surgery as soon as possible, which put the family in a tough spot with the heart of the basketball season and the Christmas holidays approaching. Added to it was the effort Mariah put in to earn a starting position on the Lady Chiefs' squad.

Her request of Santa was simple: "I'm hoping the surgery makes me a little taller. And I hope I can get back to playing soon."

At 5-foot-1 and with the wisp of a willow tree, Jones is a bundle of energy that even major surgery has trouble slowing down. Just three days past her operation, the teenager already was talking about getting back on the basketball court, something that's not likely to happen this season.

"Mariah's so pushy. She asked the doctor this morning before she left, 'Hey, can I go with the team on the bus to a game after Christmas?'" said her mother, Tracy Jones.

Twice as common in girls as in boys, scoliosis is an abnormal curvature of the spine. It can develop at any age, but usually occurs after the age of 10 and can be treated with observation, bracing or surgery depending on the severity of the curve and the risk of it getting worse, according to MedicineNet.com.

Mariah's grandmother began noticing her "walking crooked" during the summer, and she began having severe pain after practices not long afterward. Jones went for a consult in August and the scoliosis diagnosis was confirmed in September.

The Jones family hoped to stall surgery until after basketball season, since Mariah had won the starting position as a sophomore on what has traditionally been a very strong high school basketball team. But the pain made that impossible.

"At first there was no pain, but it increased as the months passed. Like after practice I would be slouched over and there was a lot of pain," said Mariah, who received daily treatments in her mid-back area from the trainer. "The freeze was like Icy Hot, it would kind of numb it for awhile."

Tracy Jones took her daughter back for another check-up, and the doctor said the curvature had progressed by about 8 percent.

"They said there would be more pain, and falling on the court would add more to it. And they said it was pushing on my organs," Mariah said.

Doctors decided she needed the surgery as soon as possible, which put the family in a tough spot with the heart of the basketball season and the Christmas holidays approaching. Added to it was the effort Mariah put in to earn a starting position on the Lady Chiefs' squad.



Source: Shrevportimes, 25th Dec 2014