A year ago, Abby Cronk’s biggest issues were similar to other teens heading off to high school - concerns that revolved around friends, classes and time management.
Now, the 16-year-old Twin Lakes Secondary School student, while juggling the demands of school and life, is bracing for surgery in a foreign land amid concerns about its impact on her health and the financial toll of the costly procedure on her tight-knit family.
“It’s been a pretty stressful year,” understated Abby.
Her ordeal started last fall when she began experiencing “mild back discomfort.”
So, she went to a chiropractor. Abby’s dad, Jim Cronk, recalls how the chiropractor “noticed a bit of a rib prominence on her right shoulder blade” and told her to see her family doctor, who immediately ordered an X-ray.
That image revealed the youth had Idiopathic Adolescent Scoliosis, or curvature of the spine.
Within days, she was at SickKids Hospital in Toronto, learning about the condition, its severity, potential surgical remedies and possible life-altering impacts.
“It really scared me,” Abby recalled of hearing the initial diagnosis. “The doctor said he wanted me to get this surgery and I was just kind of freaking out at that point.
“In the same sentence, he was telling me what could go wrong, the complications, the recovery time. I remember thinking this is too much information to process.”
Since that moment, Abby and her family have banded together to research the affliction and learn everything they could about surgical options, while focusing on working diligently in physiotherapy and chiropractic care to be prepared for whatever might come.
Jim called it a “journey of discovery” that took patience, perseverance and time.
They learned that in Canada, specialists, generally, rely on a fusion process to correct the curvature - an invasive spinal surgery that involves inserting steel rods and screws on either side of the spine. This is a major operation that involves bone grafting and potential life-altering complications for some.
The Cronks also discovered that south of the border, Shriners Hospitals had pioneered a different, less invasive "tethering" approach called Anterior Scoliosis Correction (ASC) surgery.
To learn more, the family travelled to New York City and New Jersey to talk to "world-class surgeons" familiar with the process.
In an ASC surgery, essentially, surgeons go in through the patient’s side, deflate a lung and then screw flexible cords along the spinal column. In Abby's case, where the curvature is rotated and severe, surgeons hope to make small cuts in her back ribs to help reduce the tension that is causing her grief.
It’s a four- to seven-hour surgery. Typically, after ASC, a patient is up and walking on Day 1 and, ideally, is in hospital for just five days.
However, because the surgery is not available in Canada for a patient like Abby - due to the severity of her curvature - it becomes a costly proposition.
Jim Cronk estimates the surgery would cost over $200,000 in the U.S., which is why the family has opted to go to Barcelona for the procedure, where it will cost about $75,000 in Canadian dollars. The surgery is slated for Oct. 14.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. They have to remain in Spain for a minimum of 21 days after the procedure and must be there seven days prior.
“We are probably going to be in Barcelona for two months,” said Cronk.
And despite the cost, this is a family that believes in the value of togetherness; they will be going as a unit.
“The family that plays together stays together,” Jim quips. “We’re a quartet. We’re a unit.”
Abby has witnessed that during this odyssey. She said her dad, her mom, Carol, and her younger sister, Elora, have stood with her.
“They have been putting their life on hold for the past year,” she said. “I always say I feel bad that I’ve ruined their lives. They have come to pretty much all my appointments together.”
Jim shrugs off the effort, saying it’s what family does.
“We’re blessed,” he says, noting family members and friends have rallied around them to provide support in the form of prayers, love and finances.
Their neighbour, Corrinna Barnes, has started a gofundme account to help raise money to offset the costs that will easily surpass $100,000.
In addition, a fundraiser is being held on Saturday at Starport Marina in Uptergrove.
Jim Cronk, a well-known singer and entertainer, will bring his guitar and perform at the event that will also feature a fund-raising barbecue of hamburgers, hot dogs, peameal bacon in addition to sweet treats and syrup made by the Cronk Family at their Ramona farm.
The event runs from noon until 2:30 p.m.
“It’s amazing the way the community has supported us,” said Cronk, who believes that support is, at least in part, due to the family’s deep roots in the community and Cronk’s willingness, over the years, to perform at countless charity events for free.
Abby said she is “blown away” by the support, noting it’s heartening to see complete strangers donate money to their cause.
The determined teen, who has been working diligently to prepare for the surgery, admits it’s been quite a roller-coaster ride these past several months.
“It’s a mixture of emotions,” she explains. “I mean I’m scared I’m getting surgery, but I’m excited about what comes after that.”
Hopefully, what comes after that will be a life with less pain, says her dad, noting surgeons estimate she will be one to two inches taller after the surgery.
“She’s as tough as nails,” Jim says with pride. “She’s in a lot of pain but never complains. We’re all tough birds out here.”
Click here to donate to the gofundme campaign.
All are welcome to attend Saturday’s fundraiser at Starport Marina. Cash donations will be accepted at the event.
While the family is grateful for any support, they also want to alert people about the importance of early detection. If scoliosis is detected at a young age, the remedies can be much simpler.
"Just Google 'Adams Forward Bend Test' for more information," said Jim Cronk about the diagnostic test. "If I could give parents any advice, that would be it!"
