A schoolboy with scoliosis spent every day for four months being suspended from a frame to prepare for surgery after doctors said his condition was too severe to treat.
Jackson Sledge, 11, from Houston, Texas, will have surgery today thanks to a halo gravity traction device which improved the curvature in his spine by more than 50 per cent.
Doctors were unable to perform spinal fusion surgery due to the severe 128 degree bend in Jackson's back.
In December last year, he was moved into a hospital in north Texas and spent 12 hours a day using a halo gravity traction device, which involves being suspended from a frame by a halo device attached to the skull to pull and straighten the spine.
Jackson's sister Maya, 20, said: 'The night before he got his halo, I sat Jackson down. I said to him "you can be sad about this, or you can go into hospital and have a great few months and walk out with some good memories."
Jackson Sledge, 11, from Houston, Texas, will have surgery today thanks to a halo gravity traction device which improved the curvature in his spine by more than 50 per cent
'Thanks to the halo gravity traction he can finally have his surgery and doctors are hopeful for the best results.'
What is scoliosis?
Scoliosis is the abnormal curvature of the spine in an S-shape.
Signs include a visible curve in the spine, one shoulder or hip being more prominent than the other, clothes not hanging properly and back pain.
In most cases, the cause of the scoliosis is not known but it can be caused by cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy.
Most children with the condition do not require treatment as it is mild and corrects itself as the child grows.
However, in severe cases the child may need to wear a back brace until they stop growing. Occasionally, a child needs surgery to straighten their spine.
Source: NHS Choices
<!- - ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/us/femail/reallife/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 - ->AdvertisementJackson has been living at the hospital full-time, even going to school there, and is surrounded by other children.
He lives five hours away from his parents in Houston and Maya in Lubbock, and they go and visit him on weekends.
Jackson was born with scoliosis but he seemed at first like a 'normal kid' until it grew more severe as he got older.
The family tried everything to improve his condition, such as getting body casts on his chest.
Speaking of the traction device, Maya said: 'We had seen other kids with it, but nothing can prepare you for your brother to wake up with a big titanium thing on his head with screws sticking out.'
She added: 'With Jackson, it was so severe they needed something to loosen the spine before they could do the surgery.
'They need to stretch it out and loosen it up, or he'd be really short and his back wouldn't be as straight as we wanted it.
'The first few days it was uncomfortable for him and he was taking pain relief.
'But as soon he got used to the feeling he was like any other normal kid.
'When Jackson's curvature was at its worst, his spine began pushing onto his lungs.
'As he got his halo on, we realised he could run for much longer and his appetite got better because his spine stopped pushing onto other organs.'
Doctors were unable to perform spinal fusion surgery due to the severe 128 degree bend in Jackson's back
The device improved the curvature in his spine by more than 50 per cent - from 128 degrees to just 60
Jackson moved into the hospital full-time in December, even attending school there, and was surrounded by other children
Jackson was able to have fun in the hospital, practising tricks and stunts where he dangles from his head and spins in circles to show off when his family visit.
At his last X-Ray at the beginning of March, after more than three months using the device, his spinal curvature improved from 128 degrees to just 60.
The improvement in his spine meant doctors are happy to go ahead with his spinal fusion surgery today.
Jackson's family tried everything to improve his condition, such as getting body casts on his chest, before trying the halo gravity traction device
Jackson lives in a hospital five hours away from his parents in Houston and Maya in Lubbock, and they go and visit him on weekends
In December last year, he was moved into a hospital in north Texas and spent 12 hours a day using a halo gravity traction device, which involves being suspended from a frame by a halo device attached to the skull to pull and straighten the spine
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