Jeremiah Cardona had been living his life in severe physical pain since birth. He was born with a lump on his back which doctors at the time said was just a nerve, but as he grew older, Jeremiah would complain about the pain he felt throughout his entire body.
Thanks to the help of an orthopedic surgeon, the 14-year-old Weslaco student now feels as though he has a new lease on life after years of pain and suffering.
Such were his struggles that he experienced difficulty even sleeping. He couldn’t focus in school because of the pain, which he felt whether he was in a seated position or standing up. So his mother, Sochic Contreras, decided to figure out what exactly was happening with her son.
“They would describe it as a table that was missing one leg,” Sochic said. “That’s what they saw on his back.”
He was diagnosed with congenital scoliosis at the age of 3.
The scoliosis was causing Jeremiah’s hips to be misaligned and one leg was longer than the other. His feet were pointed inward which would cause him to trip on himself and made it difficult for him to run.
Doctors noticed that Jeremiah was missing tendons normally located between the spinal disks and had a 40- to 42-degree spinal curvature, which is considered near severe and can affect the lungs.
That’s when Sochic was referred to Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi, where Jeremiah and his family met orthopedic surgeon Dr. Christopher Comstock in order to treat his scoliosis.
“We had to treat Jeremiah’s congenital scoliosis with surgery from both the front and back of his spine on the same day,” Dr. Comstock said in a news release. “This was quite an extensive operation for such a young boy but he and his family handled it all beautifully.”
The doctors noticed the curvature was growing and decided they had to prevent his scoliosis from getting worse. The issue was becoming more severe because his spine was getting closer to one of Jeremiah’s lungs.
Sochic explained that the doctors removed a rib from her son’s left side and placed it next to his spine in order to stop the growth, which it did and has not received corrective surgery as of yet because of it.
He relearned how to walk after his surgery, but the procedure helped alleviate his pain and allowed him to sleep better.
Today, Jeremiah is a student at Mary Hoge Middle School in Weslaco, where he plays saxophone in his school’s band.
He was also invited to speak at a groundbreaking in Edinburg last year in November where Driscoll announced they would be opening a hospital in the Rio Grande Valley.
“I’m grateful to have a Driscoll hospital [closer] to where I live and to be able to get care whenever I need it,” Jeremiah said during his speech. “I know I’ll still have challenges to face with my condition but it helps to know I have people at Driscoll who will help make things easier for me and my family.”
He still visits Dr. Comstock every eight to nine months to check on his progress with scoliosis and has grown to be kind and caring due to his experience. But Sochic said he’s still afraid of the day the doctors will finally tell him it’s time for his corrective surgery.
His mom says her son used to be bothered by a lot of things especially at school, but as he’s grown up and his condition has gotten better, he’s become more active and wants to be more involved as a result of him being more able-bodied.
“If you talk to him he’ll tell you, ‘I want to be like everybody else, I want to be treated like everybody else,’” Sochic said. “‘I’m not different, I’m the same as everybody else.’”
Jeremiah wishes he could play sports, specifically soccer, but is cautious of the notion due to his condition.
He has also expressed interest in engineering and was even offered a full scholarship to University of Texas Rio Grande Valley once he graduates high school.
