Nathan's fight for his spine

---

Nathan Garcia is five years old, but has the body of a two-year-old. He is undergoing a treatment which would look more at home in a torture chamber, in an effort to correct his curved spine.

For the last two years, Nathan has been flying to Sydney from Perth every six weeks to have the treatment.

Nathan has infantile scoliosis, or curvature of the spine. Every six weeks, doctors stretch him out on a rack and make a cast, to try and straighten his spine again.

Nathan was the first child in Australia to use the rack. His family took out a $40,000 loan and bought it, then donated the rack to the Children's Hospital for others to use.

But Nathan wasn't treated early enough, so now his back is on a permanent corkscrew, slowly crushing his lungs and his weak heart.

Nathan's mother Monique has been his constant companion.

"Scoliosis is just a condition that affects his quality of life," Monique said.

"We're constantly in the hospital to have things like the halo and it's all because he wasn't treated early."

Hospital has been part of Nathan's life. For his fifth birthday, Nathan had a halo screwed into his head to pull his back straight, but there was a party at the hospital anyway. Every child in the room also had infantile scoliosis.

Thanks to mum Monique, the children came from across Australia to meet an elderly orthopaedic surgeon from England, who has pioneered a cure for the terrible condition.

It was Dr Min Mehta's first trip to Australia.

"There has been criticism," Dr Mehta said. "[That] putting a child in a plaster is really outlandish."

"But it isn't. The children have no idea, they just get on with life. They learn to climb and walk. It's finished within 9-12 months and then they are normal children with backs straight and normal."

Dr Mehta's method has been used in other countries for years with success. Now, Australian surgeons are taking notice.

Nathan's orthopaedic surgeon Dr Angus Gray says the treatment works.

"We're seeing this technique validated and it's only taken 40 years, but medicine's a pretty conservative group at times," Dr Gray said.

Dr Mehta also suffers from scoliosis. She developed hers as a teenager and dedicated her life to finding a cure.

"You can actually get rid of the scoliosis completely," Dr Mehta said.

"Monique is a catalyst I think. Parents are the best detectors of early scoliosis."

But Monique admits her efforts have come at a cost.

"Finding that there's a potential cure and not being able to access that has taken its toll and my husband and I have separated," Monique said.

Nathan's rack at Sydney's Children's Hospital in Randwick is now being used by children around the country with success. But sadly for Nathan, it's no longer an option.

His family is moving to Melbourne this weekend before he undergoes an operation for a collapsed lung, made more risky because he has a weak heart.

"But you see how tough he is," Dr Mehta said.

"He can be, he looks frail, but he isn't. He's got something within him - his tissues are wanting to respond to treatment."

Further information

For those wanting more information about Nathan Garcia and Infantile Scoliosis: Nathan, 5, has Infantile Scoliosis and a heart condition called hypoplastic left heart syndrome (half a heart).

His mother Monique has set up a trust to help Nathan's treatment costs. He needs all the help he can get:

NATHAN GARCIA TRUST
National Australia Bank
BSB: 082360
A/C: 7514 47452

To donate to Scoliosis Kids Australia, contact Monique:
Monique@scoliosiskidsaustralia.com

Find out more about infantile scoliosis at the website set up by Monique and friends: www.scoliosiskidsaustralia.com. The website also has links to other sites which can help families needing support.