Earlier this year, a woman who was instrumental in inspiring the movement for the conservative treatment of scoliosis passed away. Prof. Martha C. Hawes was a truly great woman who will be remembered in a celebration of life this Saturday on the campus of the University of Arizona, where she had a long and illustrious career as a research scientist in botany.
A highly intelligent, accomplished woman, Martha was held in very high esteem in her chosen field. Off campus, she was truly a trailblazer in the scoliosis world, which is how we came to know Martha. She made an incredible impact as a friend to others with scoliosis, published researcher, author, and speaker– an untiring advocate for herself and for others navigating scoliosis. As a featured speaker at numerous medical conferences in the early 2000s, Martha worked hard to influence minds in the surgical community toward the need for more conservative care for scoliosis and fewer surgeries. After an encounter with Martha, her vast knowledge of scoliosis research and the logical arguments she set forth made it difficult for anyone to think scoliosis should be treated any other way except conservatively!
Our family was blessed when Martha came into our lives. It is not an understatement to say that she played a pivotal role in our family’s personal scoliosis journey. Marc’s first phone call to Martha was a cold call in the fall of 2001. From that first contact, she enthusiastically and generously shared her insights and extensive knowledge. After just a couple of calls, she invited us to her home in Tucson.
In November 2001, two lost, discouraged parents from Boston boarded a plane for Tucson on a fact-finding mission. Upon our arrival, we made an instant connection with Martha and talked the night away. We also had the honor of purchasing the first copy of her newly self-published book, something she noted in the inscription. That book, “Scoliosis and the Human Spine,” is, by far, the most tattered, referenced book on our shelves. In the book, Martha analyzed the gamut of published research on scoliosis from the entire twentieth century, which was mostly about surgery, and challenged much of it to expose what she believed to be the flaws in the treatment of scoliosis. In the forward of the book, Martha provided an overview which succinctly states: (1) “current clinical approaches to treatment of spinal deformity in this country are inadequate and inappropriate, and that (2) basic and clinical research to design new strategies are needed.” In one chapter entitled “The Appearance of a Conflict of Interest,” she made a powerful case that the lack of treatment options, aside from surgery, was just that.
At the time, we were just looking for answers that the medical world could not, or would not, provide. Like Martha, we understood that a paradigm shift was necessary and needed to include choices for patients and families, including conservative treatment alternatives for scoliosis. As the pivotal influence she was, Martha was instrumental in the grassroots movement that has happened in the field of scoliosis over the past twenty years.
The path our lives took after meeting her ultimately led to us establishing Scoliosis 3DC®. We may even say that it was kismet that a chiropractor–and his ‘wants to know all the options’ wife–would be thrust into the scoliosis world at that particular moment in time. A time when a wonderful, brilliant, giving lady was making an organized, well-thought-out, and well-presented case for the voiceless. It takes a formidable and strong person to challenge the medical establishment, and Martha never backed down, traveling all over the world to speak at conferences and challenging the most highly regarded scoliosis specialists of the Scoliosis Research Society, even putting them on the spot to defend their broad use of surgery for scoliosis.
We were so fortunate to forge a special friendship with Martha and her husband, Hans Van Etten. From 2011 to 2015, we had numerous visits to their home or on campus, while our son attended school at the U of A. We would spend hours visiting with Martha and Hans, discussing scoliosis and the flawed assumptions and guidelines adopted by the key players. (By that I mean that our shared belief that surgery is often unnecessary for so many, and the widespread belief, at that time, that exercise for scoliosis doesn’t work and that kids won’t do it.) We also had the pleasure of hosting Martha in our home, enjoyed meeting her and visiting at various conferences, and were always able to gain insights into scoliosis that were nuanced and shared willingly.
We can sincerely say that the scoliosis world, patients, parents, and families of patients, are far better off today as a result of having had a fighter like Martha in their corner. Martha, may you rest in peace. You are missed and will always hold a special place in our hearts!
