High school swimmer eager to compete after spine surgery

By Maureen Gilmer, IU Health senior writer, mgilmer1@iuhealth.org

Ashlyn Pranger, a 15-year-old swimmer from Fort Wayne, is eager to get back into the pool again after undergoing surgery for scoliosis.

And her Riley Children’s Health surgeon, Dr. Dan Drake, is confident she’ll be swimming again in no time.

Diagnosed with the spine curvature condition three years ago, Ashlyn and her parents, Keith and Jennifer, first opted for a hard-shell brace that she had to wear 20 hours a day for a year.

Entering high school, she didn’t want to continue with the brace, but she participated in physical therapy regularly and swam for her school team, as well as a summer team and the YMCA.

Unfortunately, during that time, Ashlyn’s condition worsened, and she was referred to the Riley orthopedics team, including physician assistant Todd Osterbur and Dr. Drake, both of whom serve patients at Riley’s Downtown campus and at IU Health North Hospital in Carmel.

Additionally, Dr. Drake sees patients monthly at the Riley Pediatric Orthopedics and Sports Medicine clinic in Roanoke, Indiana, near Fort Wayne.

“Ashlyn’s curve had progressed to 50 degrees, which is considered severe scoliosis with a high likelihood of continued progression despite skeletal maturity,” Dr. Drake explained.

For her, selective thoracic posterior spinal fusion surgery was the best option, but the teen’s parents wanted her to have a say in whether or not it was done.

“Letting her make this decision, my husband and I were beside ourselves,” Jennifer Pranger said. “She grew up with a lot of anxiety, but I’ve never seen her be so calm, so ready to have this surgery.”

The operation to place two metal alloy rods with screws in her back to correct the curve and keep the spine straight over time took place at Riley at IU Health North in June. Ashlyn went home two days later. She started her sophomore year last week at Fort Wayne’s Bishop Dwenger High School.

“I feel pretty good,” the teen said Monday. “I’m glad I went with the surgery. There’s a little muscle pain here and there, mostly in my shoulders, but it’s manageable.”

The hump that was previously visible in her back is gone.

“It always is a pretty dramatic change,” Dr. Drake said.

Surgery was the right decision in Ashlyn’s case, he said, adding that the condition is considered severe when it gets beyond a 45-degree curve in a young, adolescent female. Ashlyn’s was at about 50 degrees, he said.

“Ashlyn is old enough that she didn’t lengthening of her spine. She needed it straightened and held in that position for the future.”

He expects her spine to maintain close to an 80% correction, even as she grows, with no more surgery required.

Which means swimming, horseback riding, fishing and school activities won’t be off-limits once she fully heals.

“I anticipate her to be able to get back to any activity she wishes,” said Dr. Drake, who will see Ashlyn in follow-up visits at the Riley orthopedics clinic near her Fort Wayne home.

“We offer care throughout the state to meet patients closer to home,” he said.

That includes the Riley personalized pediatric care at IU Health North in Carmel, where the team performs general ortho surgeries, as well as trauma surgeries and spine surgeries like Ashlyn’s for patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

“We provide the same Riley standard of care at IU Health North with a dedicated team of pediatric hospitalists, surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists, therapists and child life support,” he said.

Dr. Drake sees patients in clinic at North every Friday and does surgery at North on Wednesdays. He has clinic hours in the Fort Wayne-area office monthly.

It’s been a rough few years for Ashlyn, as she struggled to deal with her scoliosis, but she and her parents are grateful to be on the other side of it now.

“I can’t thank the doctors and the staff enough,” Jennifer said. “Dr. Drake has been supportive 110 percent; her PA, Todd, was amazing; and the care she received at the hospital was phenomenal. Every nurse, whether morning, day or night, was so loving and caring.”

And she is beyond proud of her daughter.

“She is amazing. This girl never shed a tear. She’s grown so much in the past couple of years.”