From Shirts to Skins – Grady’s Story

Basketball has been a constant in Grady’s life from very early on.

The son of a coach, he learned to play at a young age and has played competitively for many years.

“Basketball is the biggest motivator in his life,” said Ryan, Grady's dad.

When he was 12 years old, Grady was diagnosed with scoliosis. Scoliosis is a curvature of the spine that is measured in degrees. Left untreated, it can progress rapidly, especially during growth periods. When he was first diagnosed in 2021, Grady’s curve was measured at 30 degrees.

In growing children, surgery is recommended if the curve exceeds 40 to 45 degrees. However, his family did not initially receive much information or guidance on how to treat it. As Grady continued to grow, his curve increased.

“The pain and challenges that his curve presented were making playing basketball almost impossible,” Ryan said. When he would play basketball with his shirt off, the scoliosis curve was very obvious and Grady felt self-conscious about it.

In December 2023, after doing a lot of research, Grady’s family found Shriners Children’s Portland and Michelle Welborn, M.D., an internationally-recognized leader in scoliosis treatment, and they were seen quickly.

“A minute into our first meeting, it was obvious that Grady was in good hands and that she was an expert in her field,” Ryan said.

Dr. Welborn measured Grady’s curve, which had progressed to nearly 70 degrees. Spinal fusion surgery was necessary and was scheduled for March of that year.

“Having a huge surgery like this at my age was really scary,” Grady said. “I wasn’t sure what to expect or how long it would take me to recover. But the whole experience at Shriners Children’s was great; my doctors and nurses were amazing.”

The first several weeks of recovery were an adjustment period, as Grady got used to walking, doing stairs and following the post-op guidelines provided by Dr. Welborn.

“Grady is such an amazing and dedicated athlete that we realized we needed to change how we do things,” Dr. Welborn said. “We worked with our wonderful physical therapist Michelle Foss to develop a return to sport program for our elite athletes.”

Grady began physical therapy at Shriners Children’s Portland with Michelle Foss, PT, D.P.T., in June.

“We began by working on core strength, hip strength, coordination and endurance,” Michelle said. “He was reluctant at first. But then we put together an individualized plan that included close-out drills, slide drills, backpedaling and shooting form.”

“Michelle was nothing short of amazing,” Ryan said. “Her ability to explain the exercises from a basketball perspective was really impressive.”

In addition to doing exercises at home, Grady came in for sessions with Michelle twice a month, and weekly as basketball season neared. After one month, he was jogging and progressing toward the benchmarks of bending, lifting and twisting required to get back on the court. He had his last physical therapy session in October, a full month before the season started.

“I had a great experience with my physical therapist, Michelle,” Grady said. “She explained everything from a basketball perspective and she was so helpful in getting me back on the court way sooner than my family or I expected.”

“As a dad and a coach, I was hopeful that he would be cleared in time, and thanks to the surgery and successful rehab process, our son feels confident and ready to tackle 6A basketball in the competitive Metro League,” Ryan said. “He is no longer in pain, his appetite is much better, and even with his scar, he doesn’t hesitate to go shirtless now.”

“The physical and mental transformation that my son has experienced since March is overwhelming for our family,” Ryan said. “The care and kindness that we have experienced every step of the way will never be forgotten by our family.”