Hi, I’m Caterina and I’m from Southern California. I’m 15 years old, and got diagnosed with scoliosis at age 12. At my yearly physical my pediatrician noticed a small curve in my spine as a result, she recommended that I get an X-ray. The X-ray showed that I had a 26 degree thoracic curve, the outcome of the X-ray caused my pediatrician to refer me to an orthopedic surgeon. The orthopedic surgeon recommended to take the wait and see approach, causing my curve to progress rapidly. This put my curve at approximately 32 degrees, after being told to wait and see for another 6 months we decided it was time for a second opinion.
After lots of research I ended up at Cedars Sinai with Dr. David Skaggs. After a consultation with Dr. Skaggs he recommended I get an MRI due to the rapid progression of my curve, and to wear a Boston Brace 16-20 hours a day. Hearing this news so short after hearing a completely different approach from another orthopedic surgeon was devastating for my family and I. Hearing the recommendation from Dr. Skaggs brought tears to my eyes knowing that the one thing I had been trying to avoid was happening to me. After the results of the MRI came back clear, I went to the fitting for the Boston Brace. I had no idea what to expect for the brace fitting considering it was my first time I had so many questions. 3 weeks and lots of tears later, I picked up my Boston Brace. Almost 3 hours later I left the orthotist office with my new brace. 1 week later, I was back at Dr. Skaggs office to get an X-ray in the new brace, the X-ray showed 10 degrees of correction. 3 long months of waiting later, I had my first out of brace X-ray.
Unfortunately my curve had continued to progress despite wearing the brace, causing my curve to reach 36 degrees. It was heartbreaking seeing that despite all of my hard work my curve had still progressed rapidly. After a long conversation with Dr. Skaggs we decided to try the WCR brace, I was ready to try something new considering my past experience. So for the second time I had to go to a brace fitting, it felt so vulnerable in a way that nothing else had made me feel. 2 weeks later I picked up my brand new brace, it took me a few days to adapt to the new shape and straps on the brace. 2 weeks after I started wearing the WCR brace I had another in brace X-ray, showing 17 degrees of correction!
After 3 months of wearing the brace almost 18 hours every day, the out of brace X-ray showed little to no progression with my curve at 38 degrees. This news inspired me to wear the brace 20 hours a day hoping to continue to see my hard work pay off. At my next out of brace X-ray I was feeling confident due to the lack of progression at my previous appointment, though my confidence quickly vanished. My curve was now 42 degrees, even with having worn the brace more. Much of my motivation dissipated after seeing my X-ray results and the shock on my parents faces, I was told I could stop wearing the brace as it clearly wasn’t working. Since stopping wearing the brace I became increasingly aware of the curve in my spine, affecting my body image. I would try to convince myself that no one would notice, even after family or friends saying it was “not noticeable”. It became impossible for me to look in the mirror without noticing my body’s asymmetrical hips, shoulders, and ribs. At this point I had narrowed down my clothing options depending on if I thought people could “see my scoliosis” or not causing my self esteem to decline rapidly.
After realizing that I couldn’t protect myself from the world my entire life, I decided to embrace my scoliosis. I am now able to wear fitted clothes without a thought in my mind about scoliosis. Of course I still have bad body imagine days, though I try to remember this feeling won’t last forever. It has taken time to realize that I can’t let scoliosis take over my life and there are lots of exciting things to think about, besides worrying about my spine. Obviously this is easier said than done, scoliosis can feel like a roller coaster with some of the highest highs and the lowest lows. I have always tried to focus on the highs and not the lows in life, especially considering that the lows will likely not last as long as the highs!
