Valley Children's Hospital Orthopaedic Department helping kids live normal healthy lives

MADERA, Calif. (KFSN) -- Andrew Robles hops to his next doctor's appointment with his family. The three-year-old's positive attitude is infectious.

Andrew has congenital scoliosis-- he was born with abnormally shaped bones in his spine.

"A few months after Andrew was born, he'd lay on the floor and he was always just a little crooked when changing a diaper, or playtime, he was always just a little crooked," said Jennifer Robles, Andrew's mother.

Every few months, the Robles family drives up to Valley Children's Orthopaedic Department for Andrew's X-rays-- but this trip is different. He gets to step into the new EOS machine with his buddy teddy berry.

The EOS is a state of the art imaging machine that takes fast x-rays with less radiation.

Dr. Kerry Loveland with Valley Children's Orthopaedics said, "It uses about 1/10th the radiation of a normal scoliosis x-ray, so a huge advantage to patients particularly our younger patients."

This is the only functioning EOS in the Central Valley and located at Valley Children's Specialty Care Center in Fresno.

"Another great aspect to it is we can take full-length x-rays of kids legs as well, and by doing that we can measure for bowling deformities, we can measure leg length discrepancies," said Dr. Loveland.

Dr. Loveland examines Andrew and with the help of clear 3D images, he can plan a course of treatment for this growing boy.

"They really go out of their way. They look at it not just as someone walking through the door in and out, but that there's a value on that person and it's really comforting knowing that," said Jennifer.

Andrew looks forward to returning home and getting back to the business of being a kid. And mom is assured, Valley Children's is investing in his future.