GRUNDY CENTER – The town of Grundy Center has been uniting behind a local youth living with scoliosis as he is scheduled for spinal surgery on Nov. 1.
Chase McDivitt, son of Clayton and Tina McDivitt, is a third-grader at Grundy Center Elementary School. When Chase was three years old, his parents and doctors noticed a lean in his spine, resulting in a diagnosis of a slight case of scoliosis.
However, roughly a year later, Chase would return to the doctor with a 63-degree curve in his spine, raising the alarm that his case of scoliosis would be much more significant than originally assumed.
This led to Chase having his first surgery in 2018 where MAGEC (MAGnetic Expansion Control) Spinal Growing Rods were implanted into his spine.
MAGEC Spinal Growing Rods are a non-invasive treatment for children with early onset scoliosis.
After the initial procedure to install the rod, doctors use an external remote control outside of the body to lengthen the magnetically controlled rod as a child grows.
“It's really easy. It doesn't hurt,” Tina McDivitt said. “He gets an x-ray before the appointment, then he has his rods extended, and then he has another x-ray and we're out. Before the magic rods were developed, they actually had to make a small incision every time to go in and actually extend the rod manually. So it's awesome that they don't have to do that.”
The rods allow the spine to continue growing while managing the curve until the child is old enough for spinal fusion, the final treatment to correct spinal curvature, typically undertaken at the end of the growing stages of puberty.
Chase and his family have been traveling to Iowa City almost every three months to adjust his rods, under the watchful eye of Dr. Stuart Weinstein, one of the leading pediatric orthopedic surgeons who specializes in spinal deformities and hip problems.
The new treatment was relatively experimental at the time when Chase received the rods, being the 35th child in the nation to undergo the operation.
“You don't want to feel like your child's a science experiment, but on the other hand, you don't want to make your child go in and get opened up every time for the procedure,” McDivitt said.
These rods allow Chase to not only avoid invasive surgical procedures every couple months, but it also lets him take part in activities beloved by children of his age.
“He’s like any other nine year old, running, playing, jumping rope,” Tina McDivitt said. “Chase makes it look really easy.”
Now on the verge of adolescence and having outgrown his previous rods, Chase is in need of one last, intensive surgery before the final spinal fusion, and the Grundy Center community is gathering behind him to support the family in this uncertain time.
“We're super stoked to have him [Weinstein] behind us, but even more blessed that we live in a small town with such amazing people that are standing behind us and rooting him on,” McDivitt said. “I feel like the whole community is behind him, so that's been amazing.”
Chase was presented a signed football and Spartans gear as the guest of honor at the weekly team meal for the Grundy Center Football team, and local community members have organized a “Meal Train” to help cover meals for the family. The meal train can be found here: www.mealtrain.com/trains/k0mz3v.
