Southmoore High School student who overcame scoliosis to ride in New Year's Rose Parade

Sydney Borchardt was determined to not let her life be defined by the scoliosis she was diagnosed with at age 10. At that time, the curvature in her spine was 18 degrees, and six months later, it had progressed to 33 degrees.

Despite a strict exercise regimen and wearing her brace 23 hours a day, Sydney had faced every physical and mental obstacle since that diagnosis with tenacity and optimism.

But after her 12th birthday, Sydney’s surgeon in Oklahoma City informed her and her family that the curvature had progressed to 43 degrees.

“It had just kept getting worse, despite us doing all of those things, and Sydney felt really defeated,” said Melissa Borchardt, Sydney’s mother. “She really never had cried before about her scoliosis, but she started crying because she was really upset and really down on herself. She was asking, ‘What did I do wrong? I did everything right you were telling me to do.’”

But, against all odds, Sydney’s fortunes improved. Now 16, she is active in the marching band at Southmoore High School, and will ride in the Rose Parade on Saturday, Jan. 1, in Pasadena, California.

Sydney is one of two National Patient Ambassadors for the Shriners Hospitals for Children, a role which she will be fulfilling by riding the hospitals’ New Year’s parade float. She credits her experience with the children’s hospitals for the dramatic change in her life.

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“To make my scoliosis journey a more positive experience, I had to reach out and to help others,” Sydney said. “I said ‘yes’ to being a National Patient Ambassador because Shriners Hospitals has done so much for me, and I feel I could never repay that.”

Shriners Hospitals specialize in medical care for children who have orthopedic conditions, spinal cord injuries and cleft palates. Children who are eligible receive health services at Shriners’ family-centered facilities, regardless of the patient’s ability to pay.

The insurance coverage Sydney’s parents had only covered certain doctors and providers within their employers’ networks, so they began searching for alternatives to the extensive and expensive spinal fusion surgery option, which costs tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars.

Another parent in a scoliosis support group reached out to the Borchardt family and told them of a new surgery Shriners was innovating called vertebral body tethering, or VBT. The procedure involves surgically inserting a strong, flexible cord to gently pull on the outside of the scoliosis curve, allowing for the child’s own growth process to more naturally straighten the spine.

“The ability to utilize a child’s growth to correct the curve in their back is a leap in the way these children are treated,” said Dr. Amer Samdani, chief of surgery at Shriners Children’s Philadelphia, who pioneered VBT methods and worked with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve it. “Properly selected patients can achieve curve correction while maintaining mobility.”

Despite initial skepticism, the Borchardt family was surprised when, in Dec. 2017, Sydney was selected as a candidate for the then-experimental procedure.

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“Although me and my husband, Dusty, were happy that Sydney was a candidate, we were still sad that we had to make that decision for her,” Melissa Borchardt said. “As a parent of a 12-year-old girl, you’re making the life-changing decision to have her undergo this surgery that is still really new and cutting-edge.”

Shriners Children’s Philadelphia told the Borchardts to await a call within the next few weeks to schedule a surgery date. The parents were even more surprised when the Philadelphia hospital called back a mere three days later and told them there was surgery availability in February 2018.

“We went to Philadelphia, and as soon as we got there, we knew we were in the right place,” Melissa Borchardt said. “They just treat you like individuals, sitting with you and informing you personally, not just as a nameless patient. There’s no asking you for money, they’re not bugging you about it, and their true goal is to take care of these kids.”

Sydney had surgery on a Monday, and by Friday the Borchardts were out of the hospital. By the next Monday, Sydney felt well enough to walk around New Jersey’s Adventure Aquarium.

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The Borchardt family, which also includes Sydney’s older sister, Darian, and younger brother, Evan, are now advocates for the VBT surgery. The procedure has since been offered at other Shriners Hospitals locations, including Portland, Oregon, and Sacramento, California.

And, despite the out-of-state treatments, the family has not paid for any of Sydney’s care the past four years. All of her follow-up care has been provided by donations to the Shriners Hospitals network.

“She is now fully flexible in her spine to where she doesn’t have to have the steel rods in her back,” Melissa Borchardt said. “She’s doing just perfectly well and is able to march and play oboe and saxophone. She’s not an athlete, but I’ll tell you, band people practice as long and as hard as athletes do.”

The daughter and mother now run chapters in Oklahoma City and Tulsa of a scoliosis support group called Curvy Girls, sharing information and spreading awareness on how to handle the condition.

And all five members of the Borchardt family left for California on Tuesday, Dec. 28, to finish decorating the parade float ahead of the New Year’s Day event.

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“It’s so humbling to be able to be a part of this,” Melissa Borchardt said. “Not having to worry about where or how Sydney was going to get the care that she needed was a huge weight lifted off of our shoulders, and it’s an honor to be able to spread awareness of what Shriners has done for her.”

Sydney’s great-grandfather was a member of the Shriners fraternal organization, and her mother feels it is fitting that their legacies continue to intertwine.

“She didn’t get to meet him,” Melissa Borchardt said, “but she also knows that, ‘my great-grandfather did this for kids like me.’”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma student overcomes scoliosis, will ride in Rose Parade