All-Star Medical News And Cheering

[Cheer_momma75]

Wasn’t sure if the allstar forum was the best place to post this on here but desperately hoping for advice.

CP recently found out she’s going to have a bit of medical/dental procedures going on over the next few years, ranging from nose surgery to years of braces with possible jaw surgery among many other things. She was born very early around 25 weeks, so she’s having a bit of a tough time now medically as her body developed.

She got into cheer late (started this season after switching sports on a whim) and she will hit the normal senior team age out next year when turning 18. However, she’s in love with the sport and has worked her butt off with tumbling and stunting (tumbles about level 3/4 and flies around level 5/6 depending on the skills) in hopes of joining a higher level team next year. Additionally, she’s extremely teeny tiny for her age and LOVES flying so some of the colleges nearby that essentially feed/are coached by coaches (who know her) at the “worlds gym” in our area are alredy asking her to go to clinics, discussing possible (slight) athletic scholarships, etc in hopes of her cheering for them if she decides to go to these schools. Hence, she is not happy with the prospect of possibly not cheering since she wasn’t fortunate to join as early as other kids have.

Not entirely sure how to handle this situation, she broke down crying at her last doctors appointment claiming something along “My body my choice” and that she didn’t want to go through with booking the larger surgeries. We don’t entirely know what the future holds for her in terms of all the procedures she’d possibly be getting, but her doctors are urging jaw surgery due to the fact that the bones in her face aren’t in the right positions. They’re saying that it would be life changing, even fixing her bad breathing issues and cosmetically improving her face (which is sunken in and has some odd shaping due to her prematurity), but yet she’s still isisting she wants to cheer. The couple surgeons we’ve met with for consultations have said different things about recovery and sports regarding if she’d be allowed to cheer/tumble again (since her face/bones would be so sensitive due to screws being put in and such) but they have all said how there’s around a 6 week or so recovery time alone just for getting back into chewing, which definitely isn’t helping to put her at ease.

Was wondering if anyone possibly has experience/knows of someone who got jaw surgery and went back to sports? Have yet to find anything with scouring Google lol. Additionally, any possible advice for a kid not wanting surgery/almost refusing? Plain old words of encouragement work too! We’re definitely looking into taking her psychologist to a but I feel that she’d better listen to those in the cheer community. ANY advice would be greatly appreciated, she’s a very stubborn kid and her anxiety/depression aren’t helping her situation! :confused::(

(Apologies in advance for spelling and grammar errors. ;) Quite sleep deprived atm!)

 

[Lisa Seye]

My only question is an insurance issue. If she waits and ages out of your policy will she then consider these surgeries as an adult with her own insurance and possibly not be covered because it's a preexisting condition? So is it possible that if she doesn't start the surgeries now, she may never get them? If so, surgeries trumps cheer IMO.

 

[Cheer_momma75]

My only question is an insurance issue. If she waits and ages out of your policy will she then consider these surgeries as an adult with her own insurance and possibly not be covered because it's a preexisting condition? So is it possible that if she doesn't start the surgeries now, she may never get them? If so, surgeries trumps cheer IMO.

Thankfully we recently switched to a new plan with amazing medical coverage, so I believe the majority of everything would be paid for until she’s around 25. She doesn’t have much of a choice for getting the surgeries done ASAP since her conditions could get worse, but the major one is a bit farther out with them aiming for the next winter break. I’m definitely team health (and using insurance) coming before cheer and will by all means make her quit if necessary for them, just not sure how to go about delicately pulling her out and then going through such painful ordeals.

 

[Eyes On The Prize]

I feel like there are a lot of unknowns here that are making a decision hard.

You said ,"coaches ... in our area are already asking her to go to clinics, discussing possible (slight) athletic scholarships, etc in hopes of her cheering for them if she decides to go to these schools." Does she have any sort of idea what she wants to do for college, what she wants to major in, where she wants to go? Is she applying/seriously considering those schools the coaches are from for education and not just the cheer part? Because what happens if she puts off the surgery and doesn't end up at those schools/on those teams? I would also sit down with those coaches, explain the situation at hand, and then ask them for a complete and honest assessment of how likely she is to make the teams she wants to make. If she doesn't make them freshman year or even sophomore year because of the surgeries, are there opportunities for her to make it junior and senior year? Do they have sideline cheer for her to do while she recovers? She could possibly still do tumbling and stunting privates (as much as she can) while she recovers to keep up her skills. Do the doctors know EXACTLY what cheer takes and what she's doing? A lot of doctors don't and therefore can give completely unrealistic expectations for what it will mean for her cheer future.

Is there a way for her to still be apart of a team next year, for her last year, at her gym? Can they have someone cross over in the later half to cover her stunting and tumbling spots and she can still do jumps/dance/whatever she can? Maybe if the coaches know in advanced she'll be incapacitated in some way, they'll be more likely and willing to accommodate her needs to try to keep her on the team. I had a team mate my senior year who, mid-season, couldn't stunt or tumble for the rest of the season. While she struggled a bit to find her place and purpose on the team, she was still a part of the team, traveled and competed with us, etc.

Another thing I didn't see talked about is what waiting will mean for her college years. From what I've gathered, she's still in high school (junior?). College is tough to adapt to for A LOT of kids - socially AND academically. There are clubs, classes, internships, jobs, friends, etc to explore and take advantage of. There are a lot of parts of cheer that translate well into other things in college. Surgery and recovery is going to take time and effort. The more responsibilities she has on her plate, the harder it's going to be for her. I feel like that is another reason to start this before she has the responsibilities of college thrust upon her. You're spending thousands of dollars (and hours) on school, make sure you get the best out of it. She may find she doesn't even have time for cheer or its not what she wants to pursue once she gets to college and sees what else there is.

Maybe having answers to some of these questions will help you/her make a more informed decision on how to proceed. I hope she finds what's best for her though, keep us updated!

FWIW, My parents had to literally FORCE me to start the college process when I was younger because I knew once I turned 18, cheer was over. I didn't want to think about my life without all star cheer and I was really stubborn about anything to do with a future where I wasn't cheering. But once I got to college and got settled in and found friends, I learned I loved my life without it, too. I wouldn't want the surgeries to affect her opportunity to explore whatever her future has in store that isn't cheer. She can still come hang out with us crazies on Fierceboard after she retires to get whatever cheer-fix she needs :)

 

[UCFKnights07]

my automatic answer would be just simply do it during the off season of cheer. dont know when that is for you, but im guessing the summer possibly...??

i had major jaw surgery back in 2007 to fix jaw alignment and bite issues. I was out of school for a month mainly due to the severe swelling. I didnt have my jaw wired shut but instead a lot of removable rubber bands, and a plastic splint like retainer at the roof of my mouth. I couldnt eat solid food for just a little over a month due to the plastic splint, but then gradually moved onto softer foods into the 2nd month. I wanna say from memory i wasnt back to 100% till about the end of month 3.

As far as when she could go back to hardcore stunting and tumbling, i cant really say i was done with cheer right before i had the surgery so i didnt return to any form of sports afterwards. But id still say around 3 to 4 months. The screws in her face arent going anywhere so i want to say the risks of returning to any form of sport is gonna be the same.

this is just my personal story of my experience however, so listen to what ever the surgeon says at the end of the day.

 

[Cheers4frenchtoast]

Wasn’t sure if the allstar forum was the best place to post this on here but desperately hoping for advice.

CP recently found out she’s going to have a bit of medical/dental procedures going on over the next few years, ranging from nose surgery to years of braces with possible jaw surgery among many other things. She was born very early around 25 weeks, so she’s having a bit of a tough time now medically as her body developed.

She got into cheer late (started this season after switching sports on a whim) and she will hit the normal senior team age out next year when turning 18. However, she’s in love with the sport and has worked her butt off with tumbling and stunting (tumbles about level 3/4 and flies around level 5/6 depending on the skills) in hopes of joining a higher level team next year. Additionally, she’s extremely teeny tiny for her age and LOVES flying so some of the colleges nearby that essentially feed/are coached by coaches (who know her) at the “worlds gym” in our area are alredy asking her to go to clinics, discussing possible (slight) athletic scholarships, etc in hopes of her cheering for them if she decides to go to these schools. Hence, she is not happy with the prospect of possibly not cheering since she wasn’t fortunate to join as early as other kids have.

Not entirely sure how to handle this situation, she broke down crying at her last doctors appointment claiming something along “My body my choice” and that she didn’t want to go through with booking the larger surgeries. We don’t entirely know what the future holds for her in terms of all the procedures she’d possibly be getting, but her doctors are urging jaw surgery due to the fact that the bones in her face aren’t in the right positions. They’re saying that it would be life changing, even fixing her bad breathing issues and cosmetically improving her face (which is sunken in and has some odd shaping due to her prematurity), but yet she’s still isisting she wants to cheer. The couple surgeons we’ve met with for consultations have said different things about recovery and sports regarding if she’d be allowed to cheer/tumble again (since her face/bones would be so sensitive due to screws being put in and such) but they have all said how there’s around a 6 week or so recovery time alone just for getting back into chewing, which definitely isn’t helping to put her at ease.

Was wondering if anyone possibly has experience/knows of someone who got jaw surgery and went back to sports? Have yet to find anything with scouring Google lol. Additionally, any possible advice for a kid not wanting surgery/almost refusing? Plain old words of encouragement work too! We’re definitely looking into taking her psychologist to a but I feel that she’d better listen to those in the cheer community. ANY advice would be greatly appreciated, she’s a very stubborn kid and her anxiety/depression aren’t helping her situation! :confused::(

(Apologies in advance for spelling and grammar errors. ;) Quite sleep deprived atm!)

I had this exact surgery when I was 16 and cheering. I also was on the border of refusing this surgery as well, but my oral surgeon broke down what would happen to me if I didn't get the surgery and it got me on board pretty quickly. My surgery stemmed from an accident I had in cheer when I was 11 and got dropped on my face on a wooden floor out of a stunt. This was quite a bit ago so I'm not sure how much has changed, but I was not allowed to cheer for 6-8 weeks (that amount of time off helped me choose my surgery to be done in the summer so I didn't miss any competitions). I was a main base on a Sr. Coed team (no levels at that point yet, but level 5 stunting) and I did not have any issues when I returned back. It's all about doing what feels comfortable for her when she returns... if she is still having pain it's not the best idea to get tossed around in the air with the possibility of an arm or something hitting her in the face. I can certainly give you my email address if you have any other questions!

 

[Cheer_momma75]

Ty everyone for your amazing responses! Haven’t had a chance to log on here for a while, but we traveled a bit to speak with some AMAZING surgeons and they’re believing that (since she’s so underdeveloped) she couldn’t have the big surgery for at least a year or 2. There’s going to be some surgeries before then to prepare her/fix other issues but we’re trying to do them in summer and school breaks so she can have this cheer season. Additionally they say that as long as she takes it easy during recoveries with proper supplements she should be good to cheer in college! She’s now much more on board lol. SO GLAD we got extra/different doctor opinions!

 

[Cheer_momma75]

I had this exact surgery when I was 16 and cheering. I also was on the border of refusing this surgery as well, but my oral surgeon broke down what would happen to me if I didn't get the surgery and it got me on board pretty quickly. My surgery stemmed from an accident I had in cheer when I was 11 and got dropped on my face on a wooden floor out of a stunt. This was quite a bit ago so I'm not sure how much has changed, but I was not allowed to cheer for 6-8 weeks (that amount of time off helped me choose my surgery to be done in the summer so I didn't miss any competitions). I was a main base on a Sr. Coed team (no levels at that point yet, but level 5 stunting) and I did not have any issues when I returned back. It's all about doing what feels comfortable for her when she returns... if she is still having pain it's not the best idea to get tossed around in the air with the possibility of an arm or something hitting her in the face. I can certainly give you my email address if you have any other questions!

Do you mind me asking how bad (if you remember) the pain level was? Just trying to get a general idea from people who have actually had the surgery. We’re hearing so many different things.

 

[quietmom]

Wasn’t sure if the allstar forum was the best place to post this on here but desperately hoping for advice.

CP recently found out she’s going to have a bit of medical/dental procedures going on over the next few years, ranging from nose surgery to years of braces with possible jaw surgery among many other things. She was born very early around 25 weeks, so she’s having a bit of a tough time now medically as her body developed.

She got into cheer late (started this season after switching sports on a whim) and she will hit the normal senior team age out next year when turning 18. However, she’s in love with the sport and has worked her butt off with tumbling and stunting (tumbles about level 3/4 and flies around level 5/6 depending on the skills) in hopes of joining a higher level team next year. Additionally, she’s extremely teeny tiny for her age and LOVES flying so some of the colleges nearby that essentially feed/are coached by coaches (who know her) at the “worlds gym” in our area are alredy asking her to go to clinics, discussing possible (slight) athletic scholarships, etc in hopes of her cheering for them if she decides to go to these schools. Hence, she is not happy with the prospect of possibly not cheering since she wasn’t fortunate to join as early as other kids have.

Not entirely sure how to handle this situation, she broke down crying at her last doctors appointment claiming something along “My body my choice” and that she didn’t want to go through with booking the larger surgeries. We don’t entirely know what the future holds for her in terms of all the procedures she’d possibly be getting, but her doctors are urging jaw surgery due to the fact that the bones in her face aren’t in the right positions. They’re saying that it would be life changing, even fixing her bad breathing issues and cosmetically improving her face (which is sunken in and has some odd shaping due to her prematurity), but yet she’s still isisting she wants to cheer. The couple surgeons we’ve met with for consultations have said different things about recovery and sports regarding if she’d be allowed to cheer/tumble again (since her face/bones would be so sensitive due to screws being put in and such) but they have all said how there’s around a 6 week or so recovery time alone just for getting back into chewing, which definitely isn’t helping to put her at ease.

Was wondering if anyone possibly has experience/knows of someone who got jaw surgery and went back to sports? Have yet to find anything with scouring Google lol. Additionally, any possible advice for a kid not wanting surgery/almost refusing? Plain old words of encouragement work too! We’re definitely looking into taking her psychologist to a but I feel that she’d better listen to those in the cheer community. ANY advice would be greatly appreciated, she’s a very stubborn kid and her anxiety/depression aren’t helping her situation! :confused::(

(Apologies in advance for spelling and grammar errors. ;) Quite sleep deprived atm!)

If the surgery will hell her breathing, do it now. Cheer is just a sport. Her health is more important. Take her to a therapist to work out her feelings. But some things are not optional.

 

[Cheers4frenchtoast]

Do you mind me asking how bad (if you remember) the pain level was? Just trying to get a general idea from people who have actually had the surgery. We’re hearing so many different things.

You can ask me anything at all! I remember the pain being pretty bad the first few days, but they also had me hooked up to a morphine drip. I just really remember trying to talk and just opening my mouth for a bit was pretty painful, but you start to adjust to how much you can open your mouth and whatnot. I wasn't chained shut afterwards, they just put these weighted steel plates on my back teeth to help keep your mouth closed.

It is definitely a process but looking back on it all it was the best thing that I could have done!