COLLEGE STATION, Texas — There are multiple pediatric clinics located at the McLane Children's Medical Center in Temple where children can receieve specialty care.
During Children's Miracle Network Hospital Week, news staff got the opportunity to meet Amanda Moore. She was diagnosed with scoliosis at just 14.
“I cannot believe that was my spine,” Moore said.
“It’s my body — and just looking at it was like [an] out of body experience."
Moore was out shopping with her mom when they noticed something off — it was her ability to stand up straight.
“I remember in third or fourth grade when they did the testing in school, and they told us they saw a little hump in her back, but it was literally 'Oh, there’s a hump. She could possibly have scoliosis — we won’t know until she grows,' ” said Mrs. Moore, Amanda’s mother.
Amanda grew and then it was time to see her orthopedist — Dr. Hilda Kriel at the McLane Children’s Medical Center.
“She comes to see me just to check on her scoliosis, to see what happened,” said Hilda Kriel, MD, Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon.
“Amanda had grown a lot in that year and her scoliosis had gotten significantly worse since she had last seen an orthopedist — to the point that she really needed surgery.”
Amanda’s mother says it must have been a miracle.
“The type of scoliosis she had — that curvature actually went to the left — but hers went to the right, which means that it went around certain organs instead of crushing those organs,” Mrs. Moore said.
“She had a big curve,” Dr. Kriel said.
“One was about 65 degrees and the other one was about 25 to 30 degrees, and then after surgery, we got the biggest curve down to about 15 degrees.”
It was after this 12-hour long surgery that the straightening of Moore’s spine would add to her height.
“She went in at 5'3 and she came out 5’6.5 — and the crazy thing is, they told us they knew she was going to gain at least three to four inches in surgery, but she still had the propensity to grow three or four inches more,” Mrs. Moore said.
It was after surgery that Moore realized she had new obstacles to face, like preparing for her freshman year of high school.
“I’m already stepping into a new environment," Moore said.
“It’s like having to build boundaries with certain things I can and cannot do or participate in. I had to come to terms with that at a very early time.”
It was through faith that she and her family remained strong.
“Even though it’s horrible now, it has that chance of making me a better person. If nothing else, that’s what it did for her and that’s what it’s done for our family. This process made us better," Mrs. Moore said.
Now at 16 years old, Moore gained three inches in height — and a reason to believe and a new lease on life.