NASS Chronicles Odina’s Incredible Journey in First Documentary Film
By Jeff Karzen
Odina Abdukodirova didn’t even want to look in the mirror. For years, the young girl from Uzbekistan lived night and day with debilitating congenital scoliosis and spina bifida that caused a severe spinal deformity.
When her brothers went out to play, Odina often stayed inside. Walking was hard enough, let alone trying to run around and keep up with the other kids. And for the first 12-plus years of her life, the specialized surgical care Odina needed remained out of reach. Her complex condition required expertise and resources that were not available to her in Uzbekistan.
Thankfully, that’s not how this story ends.
Longtime NASS member Keith Wilkey, a retired orthopedic surgeon, initially brought Odina’s case to the society’s attention. From there, NASS reached out to membership asking if anyone was interested in taking on the unique case. Many physicians inquired, and Odina’s family selected Dr. Terrence Ishmael, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Shriners Children’s Philadelphia.
Thanks to Shriners and its international program, Odina traveled to Philadelphia in September 2025. The next four months would change the course of her life.
NASS was there for the full journey, chronicling the experience from the time Odina and her mother, Guli, arrived in America, through their post surgery experiences. The result is NASS’ first short documentary, a 29-minute video titled, A Second Chance: Odina’s Journey, available at www.spine.org/Odina.
“NASS helped Odina achieve a surgery and improvement in her health that would not have been possible otherwise,” said Dr. Steven Hwang, a NASS board member and pediatric neurosurgeon at Shriners Philadelphia who performed Odina’s first of two surgeries.
“Odina and her mom were so happy to receive spine care at Shriners that was only possible because of NASS and its coordination of care. The collaboration of both NASS and Shriners allowed Odina to experience an incredible, life-changing surgery.”
With interviews conducted before and after surgery with Odina, her mother Guli, and the surgeons who performed her procedures, the documentary takes viewers through a winding road of hope, fear, sadness, and joy that came with the journey.
Keith Wilkey, MD
Terrence Ishmael, MD
Steven Hwang, MD
In Uzbekistan, Odina’s outlook was grim, and as an infant, doctors told her parents they should consider placing her in an assisted-living facility. As she got older and her congenital scoliosis worsened, Odina’s lung capacity became quite weak, to the point that simply walking a block down the street was taxing.
But Odina and Guli didn’t give up. When Guli’s Chicago-based cousin Nora Vayman and her husband Eugene visited Uzbekistan in 2024, the initial groundwork was laid to find Odina surgical intervention. It was just the start, and the search for a surgeon and medical facility began in earnest.
Odina’s Journey documents what became possible when physicians, NASS members, and partners across borders worked together to connect one patient with the care she needed. Watch the film to follow Odina and her mother from Uzbekistan to Philadelphia, and the collaboration that changed the course of her life.
Odina and her cousin Nora Vayman at Chicago's Art Institute. The top photo is before surgery, and bottom is after surgery.