It was a beautiful sunny fall afternoon in our Hey Clinic Great Room today when I bumped into Andrea, one of my scoliosis moms. She had to show me something her daughter Leah made this week in school for Thanksgiving. She showed me the “Tbankfulness Tree” Leah made, and a long list of things she is thankful for. Take a look — I’m the brown leaf toward the middle of the tree! How cool! I asked if it would be OK to share these thankgivings with all of you, and Andrea replied:
“Absolutely you can share it! Leah thinks the world of you and your talks with her have helped her immensely! Thank you for educating us and for your wonderful encouragement! We will see you on December 5th! Happy Thanksgiving “
Andrea pointed out that “Dr. Hey” actually made it onto the Thankfulness Tree, and in her list of thanksgivings explained why:
“… because he has helped me to have a more positive outlook on my scoliosis and to not give up on my ability to overcome scoliosis.”
Leah also shared that she was thankful for scoliosis:
“because though it has hindered me greatly, it has taught me a dedication to physical therapy and helps me appreciate things I wouldn’t normally appreciate.”
Wow. I can look back to my own teenage experiences as a patient and say “Amen”, although it took me longer to figure that out than Leah!
Having a thankful spirit has been shown to be the key to resilience, which is why Remembering “Three Good Things” every day is one of the best suggested cures for burnout. There are definitely things that my physician assistants, physical therapists, orthotists, MA’s and other staff do to really help patients and families through this difficult journey, and actually grow and thrive. There is much more going on here than a cobb angle or trunk shift changing — there is a little precious person becoming a big person, with a growing foundation of compassion, strength and hope and confidence!
Strong work Leah for facing your scoliosis with courage, and thriving through it! I am thankful for you and your family, and the many other patients and families who bring life and light to our lives at Hey Clinic every day.
Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Hey Clinic for Scoliosis and Spine Care.
— Lloyd A. Hey, MD MS
