Thus the final Mehta cast is off! The Mehta Cast Saga has come to a close.

So what is Mehta casting?

Mehta casting is a non-surgical treatment option for children with infantile idiopathic scoliosis (IIS), a type of scoliosis that develops in infants under the age of three. The treatment involves applying a series of plaster casts to the infant’s torso to gently and gradually correct the curvature of the spine. This treatment is effective in preventing the progression of scoliosis and avoiding the need for surgery in many cases. (Spoilers: our son’s is not such a case)

We started nearly 250 days ago, unknowing at the time if we’d be going through six weeks of casting, six months of casting, or more. After 6 Mehta casts, we know where this part of the journey ends.

We went into this not knowing what the ultimate outcome would be. We, of course, had slivers of mediated optimism, but we went in knowing that fully curing Harrison of his scoliosis wasn’t truly on the table. From the curve’s high placement, add Harrison’s arthrogryposis and nemaline myopathy, and there were just too many variables to expect a complete correction realistically. 

Each visit to Shriners Children’s Greenville was different during this Mehta casting journey. Some were uplifting, and we walked away from some, nearly heartbroken. As the norm for the past two years, it was a rollercoaster ride.

I documented each visit, some more than others, over my other blog, The Greene Affect. You can check out links to each episode of the “Mehta Cast Saga” below.

Greene Does Greenville: The Mehta Saga – Prologue

The first actual visit to Shriners Children’s Greenville, after what boils down to randomly starting the process of tackling Harrison’s scoliosis, after a therapist had requested an X-ray during our last visit. This visit began our march towards Mehta casting.

Greene Does Greenville: Episode I – The Spinal Menace

Our two-day visit to Greenville, SC, and Shriners Children’s Greenville, where we went through the Mehta casting process for the first time.

Greene Does Greenville: Episode II – Attack of the Curve

Our second casting, including a visit with a downtrodden Dr. Pete (Dr. Peter Stasikelis), and the true reality of this process and Harrison’s scoliosis hit us in the face.

Greene Does Greenville: Episode III – Revenge of the Cast

Arguably the hardest cast to get through (and the shortest blog post). After the previous visit to Shriners and meeting with Dr. Pete, we were still reeling 6 weeks later and were essentially going through the motions.

Greene Does Greenville: Episode IV – A New Hope

To the surprise of everyone, an x-ray during this visit to Shriners Children’s Greenville revealed that the casting was having a bit of success, as Dr. Pete was able to see a 10-degree correction in the curvature of Harrison’s spine.

Greene Does Greenville: Episode V – The Scoliosis Strikes Back

With highs also come lows. While this wasn’t as bad as our experience with the second casting, this included a repeat of a downtrodden Dr. Pete. A man you could tell was frustrated and heartbroken that he was unable to do more than what he was. This was when we learned that we had one more casting after this one, and we’d be moving on to bracing, as we weren’t getting the job done. This visit was the roughest on Harrison and the longest for us.

Greene Does Greenville: Episode VI – The Last Mehta

The final casting was a change of pace for us, as the schedule we had grown accustomed to was thrown out the window!

Greene Does Greenville: The Mehta Saga – Epilogue

Closing out on the Mehta casting saga while looking back at the past 249 days, along with looking ahead to things to come.

So where are we now? What’s next? Well, our latest visit to Shriners Children’s Greenville to find out that exact thing essentially ended in a cliffhanger. So, for now, who knows? We’ll find out that answer and likely more in a month.