From age 7 diagnosis to teenage success, Beacon Children’s Hospital patient thrives after scoliosis surgery

When doctors diagnose scoliosis, an abnormal curvature of the spine, they typically see it in adolescents. But for Nayelli Wood, the journey began much earlier, at just seven years old.

During what seemed like a routine check-up, both her pediatrician and her mother Marisela, a registered nurse, noticed something concerning – a curve in Nayelli’s spine. X-rays soon confirmed their fears, leading them to specialists at Riley Hospital for Children. The initial treatment plan seemed straightforward enough: careful monitoring and a back brace to hold the spine in place, especially crucial during growth spurts.

But despite their vigilance, the two curves in Nayelli’s spine had other plans. Every six-month check-up brought increasingly worrying measurements, the curves worsening despite the back brace’s constant presence.

“It just advanced right away,” recalled Marisela. The situation became particularly dire after Nayelli turned 11. “She even had trouble breathing when she was sleeping.”

In 2021, Nayelli’s care journey led her to pediatric neurosurgeon Dr, Daniel Fulkerson at Beacon Medical Group North Central Neurosurgery South Bend. As she reached age 12, her condition had progressed to a point where Dr. Fulkerson had to present the family with a daunting option: scoliosis surgery.

“The procedure involved a reconstruction of her spine, with untwisting, straightening, and stabilizing the spine to prevent further curvature,” explained Dr. Fulkerson. “This would require placing multiple titanium screws and rods along the length of her spine.”

Dr. Daniel Fulkerson, Pediatric Neurosurgeon, Beacon Medical Group North Central Neurosurgery

The decision weighed heavily on the Wood family.

“We put it off because she was still growing so much,” said Marisela, Nayelli’s mother and an ortho-neuro nurse at Memorial Hospital. But all too soon, Nayelli’s symptoms began to interfere with her life.

When she started feeling numbness and tingling in her hands while playing volleyball, the family talked with Dr. Fulkerson again. The curves in her spine had exceeded 60 degrees. After much soul-searching, the Woods knew it was time to move forward with the procedure.

A dedicated athlete, Nayelli worried that she would never be able to play volleyball again, tie her shoes or do backflips on the family’s trampoline. But she bravely faced her fears and underwent spinal fusion surgery with Dr. Fulkerson in June 2023 at Beacon Children’s Hospital.

Surgery Day

The day of surgery was emotional for the entire family.

“I was really scared,” said Nayelli, remembering the pivotal morning. “I didn’t sleep at all that night. And then that morning I was very stressed.” Knowing her parents were by her side helped calm her, as did a visit from Micky, the hospital’s service dog.

For her parents, the day proved equally emotional. “Surgery day was the most stressful day of my life,” Marisela shared. For 10 long hours, she and Nayelli’s father, Greg, stayed in the waiting room, receiving updates every couple hours. Finally, they learned that the successful procedure was over, and Nayelli spent six nights recovering in the hospital before returning home.

Marisela took nine weeks off work to be at home with Nayelli, and her nurse training came in handy for encouraging her daughter to keep moving. She told Nayelli, “You’ve got your mom and your nurse all in one. I can’t separate the two.” She even set up a white board in Nayelli’s bedroom to keep track of medications, similar to the tracking whiteboard in her hospital room.

Her recovery progressed with remarkable speed. One day after surgery, Nayelli began walking. After three weeks, she no longer needed her prescription medications. By her fourth week, she was able to walk around without discomfort. And perhaps most remarkably, four months post-surgery, Nayelli stepped back onto the volleyball court.

“Me and the head coach were looking at her, and I was just crying,” Marisela recalls. “Just seeing her out there was so wonderful. She’s an amazing child.”

A new chapter

At her one-year follow-up with Dr. Fulkerson, Nayelli’s progress had exceeded all expectations.

“It feels a lot better now. I don’t feel tingling in my hands anymore,” Nayelli says. “I used to feel sharp pains in my back. Now I don’t have to worry about that. I’m able to go out and play without worrying about pain.”

In fact, Nayelli has found that she can do a lot more than she thought she would after such a major surgery. The experience has taught her powerful lessons about her own resilience. “God will never put me through anything that I can’t handle,” she says.

Her joy in rediscovering normal activities shines through in her words. “I can tie my shoes. I’m able to play sports. I’m able to run around and still be a kid and not worry about if I’m going to be okay or not,” Nayelli says. “I’m stronger than I thought I was. I was able to get through it, and I’m better than ever.”