adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

Lena was diagnosed with Idiopathic Scoliosis at age seven. In 2010, Lena’s curve had progressed to a 52 degree curve, and she needed urgent surgical intervention. On her fourteenth birthday, Lena was released from Rady’s Children’s Hospital. Her surgery was a complete success and she even appeared in our Scoliosis…...

My long journey with scoliosis started seven years ago, when I was just ten years old. I was taking a yoga class when my teacher unexpectedly noticed that my back was uneven. Little did I know that this simple observation was actually the beginning of what would become a very…...

Twelve years ago, I didn’t even know what scoliosis was. When I was diagnosed with the condition, I thought it was impossible. But once you notice that curvature, you can’t un-see it. My eyes would go to it every time I looked in the mirror, every time someone took a…...

Kathy Ricciardi is a 20 year old patient of Alfred I. duPont Children’s Hospital in Wilmington Delaware. She was diagnosed with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis when she was 10 years of age with a 22 degree spinal curvature. Despite bracing, her curve increased to 52 degrees and with significant truncal asymmetry…...

When I first found out I had scoliosis, one of my biggest concerns was how much it was going to affect my day to day life. I learned a great deal about myself when I started out in my brace. I found out I am tougher than I ever could…...

During the same visit that I got my scoliosis diagnosis, I also learned I needed surgery. It was shocking, scary, and confusing, but my favorite quote which got me through not only my scoliosis experience but changing schools, applying to college, and fighting for the starting goalie position was: “You’re…...

On May 17th, 2010, when I was fourteen years old, I underwent a spinal fusion. My spinal fusion was performed by Dr. Peter Newton at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, California. At the time of my surgery, I had a sixty degree right thoracic curve that was only going…...