N 1947, Kay had a severe attack of poliomyelitis which left her with complete paralysis of the opponens muscle in her left hand and a slight curvature of the spine. The scoliosis, however, has progressed steadily and although her back does not cause discomfort most of the time, it does ache at the end of the day. I was on the children's orthopedic ward when Kay was admitted for correction of her scoliosis. She was eleven years old and appeared to be happy and comfortable. She was unable to use her left thumb and the curvature of her spine was quite evident. Because she would have to spend several months in a Risser jacket the doctor had told her family to have her hair cut. I thought her "boyish" cut was very attractive. For the first five days that Kay was in the hospital the doctors studied and evaluated the degree of the curvature and a series of x-rays were taken. During this time Kay made friends with the other girls in the ward, read, and listened to the radio. She seemed to be adjusting to the routine with very little difficulty. She spent most of the time in bed. It had a firm mattress with bed boards beneath it, but Kay did not complain about her bed being hard. The day before she was to have her Risser jacket applied, I gave her a thorough shampoo as I knew it would be a long time before she could have another one. She had seen other children in these jackets and didn't seem afraid, but when she returned from the plaster room she seemed quite apprehensive and complained of tightness under her right arm. I checked the cast to make sure there was no undue pressure in her axilla and turned her to a more comfortable position. I was careful to use the palms of my hands when I turned her-so that my fingers would not dig into the soft plaster and create potential points of pressure. The following day Kay seemed better adjusted to the cast, and moved her arms and legs freely. She retained food and fluids with no difficulty. At the end of the week she was again taken to the plaster room to have hinges put into her cast. These were incdrporated anteriorly and posteriorly over the apex of the spinal curve. Then five days later, the cast was cut and turnbuckles were incor-