Patient Stories

I was first diagnosed with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis when I was 12 years old and it was almost completely by chance.
My back had been aching, which was something I had never experienced before. I mentioned it to my Mum and she gave me a gentle back rub for relief.
As a result, she noticed that my spine was severely curved. At this point, we had no idea what Scoliosis was, and had never even heard the word.

Unfortunately, like most adults, my Mum and Dad were not aware of the condition and therefore missed the subtle signs during the early stages of my Scoliosis. I was a fit and healthy child and up until that point, and had never complained about my back. Mum took me to our local GP who referred me to an Orthopaedic Surgeon, Mr Griffin. He diagnosed my Scoliosis and decided that we monitor it for 12-18 months. Unfortunately by this stage, my Scoliosis was too severe for bracing and as a result Scoliosis surgery was my only option.

We went along to see another Orthopaedic Surgeon, Mr Robert Dickens who specialized in Scoliosis surgery. He explained that my curve was likely to progress by ten degrees per ten years. The curve would become cosmetically more inappropriate, cause respiratory complications and ultimately would shorten my life expectancy.

All of the risks and possible complications were explained to me at Mr Dickens office. To say I was terrified would be an understatement and I cannot begin to imagine how my poor parents felt . I was afraid I may never walk again, or worse still, never wake up from the surgery. I can clearly remember coming out of Mr Dickens office after being told about the potential surgery. As I tried to digest the news, I cried all the way home in the back of Mum and Dads car. My initial reaction was “there is no way in hell that I am having that done!”.

After days of digesting and processing the news, I realized that I had no option. My Scoliosis was progressing at a rapid rate, and therefore without surgery, my life expectancy would have been around 30 years. So in 1994, age 14, I underwent a Scoliosis spinal fusion to have two stainless steel Harrington Rods attached to my spine from L1 to around T5.

I’m not going to lie, the road from then to now has been extremely challenging at times. Living with Scoliosis is a daily battle. Some weeks my pain levels are minimal and others are chronic. I often remind myself that the surgery my doctors performed was lifesaving. For that I am forever grateful. Without their amazing work I would not be here today, married to the love of my life and raising my two beautiful children.

At present, I prefer to view my Scoliosis in a positive light rather than see it as a burden. I am a “glass-half-full” kind of person. I believe we should learn to work with what we have and be grateful for every moment. It would be very easy to give in to this condition and live with a negative view point, but I choose happiness (most of the time!) and power over my pain.

I created my blog Beyond Scoliosis to provide inspiration, awareness, hope and positivity to other people living with Scoliosis.

I have also recently written a book “Beyond Scoliosis- Create A Life You Love While Living With Scoliosis”. In this book you won’t find hospital packing lists or fashion advice for wearing a brace. This book goes beyond that. It will take the reader on a journey of self-discovery to delve deeply into the emotional and mental aspects of Scoliosis. It will provide insight, relief, and practical tools that can be implemented to help people move beyond their Scoliosis. I have created the type of book that I wish I had at my fingertips when I was first diagnosed at the tender age of twelve.

It is my hope that with more awareness of Scoliosis we can aim for early detection in children and ultimately minimize the amount of surgery and the severity of this chronic condition.