Newswise — From the time she first saw one in action, 14-year-old Kourtney Baker knew she wanted to become a race car driver. But when her family discovered a steep curve in her spine that threatened Kourtney’s health, they turned to the Spine Program at the Jackie and Gene Autry Orthopedic Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for help. Just three months after undergoing corrective surgery at CHLA, she was back on track. After all, Kourtney didn’t want to slow down—she had races to win.
“My grandpa grew up working on race cars, and my dad introduced me to that world,” Kourtney explains. “I was about 6 or 7, visiting Mississippi, where my dad is from, and he asked me if I wanted to go see his friends in a race. I saw it and I really liked it.”
When Kourtney and her family returned home to La Crescenta, California, they found a local dirt track. “I told my dad, ‘I want to race one of these and see how I like it,’” Kourtney says. Though her family was apprehensive about the potential risks involved, they supported Kourtney’s newfound passion for motorsports. Soon, Kourtney was racing competitively in an Outlaw Kart, a small race car that can reach upwards of 75 miles per hour, almost every weekend. And amid her busy racing schedule, she joined her school’s competitive cheer team.
A scoliosis diagnosis
“It was Easter Sunday, 2023,” Kourtney recalls, when everything changed.
“My mom noticed that when I was standing straight, my scapula was sticking way out of my back, which of course it’s not supposed to be doing.” Kourtney’s dad, Robert, a nurse practitioner, suggested that they get X-ray images taken. The X-rays showed significant and abnormal curvature in Kourtney’s spine, a condition known as adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.
“We realized that we needed to make an appointment with my doctor right away,” Kourtney says. She and her family went to see her longtime pediatrician, who told them that the curvature must have progressed rapidly, as it hadn’t been present during her last check-up six months earlier.
As they worked to determine their next steps, the family received a recommendation from one of Robert’s colleagues to see Lindsay Andras, MD, Director of the Spine Program at the Jackie and Gene Autry Orthopedic Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
In late fall 2023, Kourtney and her parents met with Dr. Andras. By that time, Kourtney’s situation had progressed beyond the point of using a brace. “A lot of times, when we first see kids come in with scoliosis, they have mild curves in their spine and there is an opportunity to use a brace to address the issue so that they don’t end up needing surgery,” Dr. Andras explains. “But Kourtney had a 61-degree curve at her first visit. She already had a scoliosis of a surgical magnitude, and we knew surgery was the path we’d have to go down in order to correct her curve.”
The S-shaped curve in Kourtney’s spine was greater than 50 degrees, meaning that it would keep growing and worsening over time, eventually impacting her ability to take part in the activities she loved, and potentially even affecting her heart and lung function. “If you perform surgery sooner rather than later, you can correct the most aggressive part of the curve without having to operate all up and down the entire spine,” Dr. Andras says. “You don’t want to wait too long to do that, or you can end up with a larger curve which requires a longer spinal fusion.”
Scoliosis surgery that maximizes mobility
Kourtney would undergo a surgery in January 2024 called selective thoracic fusion. In this procedure, rods are inserted around the primary thoracic curve, a portion of the spine in the upper and middle back. Over time, these rods help to straighten out the upper curve in a patient’s spine, which in turn can stop progression and even straighten the lumbar curve in the lower back. Since rods are only inserted in the upper part of the spine, this surgery helps to maintain the patient’s mobility.
Kourtney’s family was understandably nervous. “When your daughter, who has never even broken a bone before, might be going under anesthesia for a six or seven-hour surgery, you’re understandably quite cautious,” Robert explains. “But being a medical provider myself, I had to trust Dr. Andras. She is amazing—and not just her, but the whole team that worked with Kourtney.”
Shortly after the surgery, Kourtney was already able to move her back with greater ease than before. But while the operation was successful, full recovery would take time and a lot of patience—not an appealing prospect for a busy teenager. “I’m very active, so it was hard to take a break from cheer, racing, school, and everything else I normally did,” Kourtney explains.
The road to full recovery
“We typically encourage patients to limit their activity to walking and stretching for the first six weeks after the surgery, and then they can start light reconditioning,” Dr. Andras explains. “Three months after the operation, they can return to regular sports and activity.”
Kourtney worked through some expected physical discomfort immediately after the surgery, with help from her dad and advice from the team at CHLA. It was uncomfortable to sit or stand for long periods, so Kourtney had to spend much of her time lying down. But she admits that the hardest part of the whole process was not being able to race. “Watching races on TV while I was on bed rest—that was the most painful thing ever,” she says.
But Kourtney also felt motivated. She was determined to get back in the driver’s seat as soon as possible. She was diligent with her physical therapy sessions. Soon she was able to return to school and attend basketball games with her friends, and her check-ins with Dr. Andras showed improvement in her spine due to the new rods.
“Right as we neared the three-month mark after the surgery, Kourtney was practically begging Dr. Andras to clear her to start racing again,” Robert says. Fortunately, her recovery was progressing well and the time was right. “She did really well and she was able to get right back into racing a few months after the surgery,” Dr. Andras explains.
A triumphant return to the track
Jumping back into racing and cheer was tiring after her time away, but Kourtney savored the return. “The first time I raced again, it was so nice,” she says. As a token of their gratitude, Kourtney and her family presented Dr. Andras with a framed collection of photos of Kourtney racing, complete with an engraved thank you message, which now hangs in her office.
Now, Kourtney is back in full swing with all her usual activities. She recently made the Varsity Spirit All-American Cheer team and performed in the Thanksgiving Tour at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, and she now competes in racing faster Micro Sprint and Junior Late Model cars. This year, she is using racing as a vehicle to raise funds for medical research and cancer care, and is supporting her hometown population affected by the 2025 California wildfires.
What does she most enjoy about racing? “I really appreciate all the support from everybody that you meet at the track—it’s like your family,” Kourtney explains. “I have a best friend who I race with, and since we’ve been teammates for about 3 years now, our bond is very close.”
Kourtney also values the impact she has on younger fans of racing. “It’s very special to see young kids at the races, and deep down I want to inspire them to do what they want to do and not let other people bring them down,” she says. “I’ve been told many times that I can’t race or I won’t be any good at it, but still I keep going and I work as hard as I can.”
Never giving up
In January 2025, Kourtney had her one-year post-surgery follow-up appointment with Dr. Andras. “My spine is practically all the way straight now,” she says.
“She’s done really well and she’s back to doing everything she used to do,” Dr. Andras explains. She notes that Kourtney and her family will now only have to come into the hospital once a year for a check-in on her spine. Kourtney explains that the appointments are straightforward and relaxed. “We look at my X-rays, but mostly we talk about my racing,” she says.
Dr. Andras has even had the chance to cheer Kourtney on at one of her recent races. “It is one of the great joys of my job to watch patients who have such strong drive and ambition go through what is obviously a big procedure and come out on the other side stronger and shining even more,” she explains.
As for Kourtney, with recent wins in both the Junior Late Model and Micro Sprint divisions, she’s looking at the road ahead with excitement. “I want to go big time in dirt track racing, try racing trucks, and maybe get to the ARCA [Automobile Racing Club of America] level,” she says. “And I hope to inspire people to never give up because the harder the experiences you go through, the stronger they make you. This wasn’t an easy time in my life, but it was an amazing experience because of everybody around me who kept supporting me and encouraging me to never give up.”
Learn more about CHLA’s Jackie and Gene Autry Orthopedic Center.
