Patient Stories

Nearly four years ago, Nodirjon Sobirov underwent surgery with Dr. Baron Lonner, a member of the Setting Scoliosis Straight Foundation, in order to correct his severe case of scoliosis. Nodirjon, a teenage immigrant from Uzbekistan, was interviewed by the New York Daily News in 2009, six months after his surgery.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

Six months after the lengthy surgery that could have paralyzed him, the once-shy Brooklyn high school student is shooting hoops, swimming laps and making friends.

“Before, I didn’t want to play with people,” Nodirjon said Saturday.”My back was crooked. I was embarrassed. Now I’m feeling great.” The 15-year-old came to New York with his family in 2007 after his mother won a green card lottery. Doctors in his homeland had delayed any back surgery, treating him instead with ineffective massages. The boy’s father, Akmal Kasimov. Said, “My son’s life has been returned to him.” Nodirjon’s spine was bent at a 130-degree angle, leaving him permanently hunched and crippling his lungs. By the time of the Oct. 29th surgery, he was gasping for air and turning blue. During the operation, the surgery team removed vertebrae from the boy’s spine and painstakingly reassembled it. For Nodirjon, the wait was worth it. The surgery, in addition to likely extending his lifespan, has increased his height by 3-1/2 inches. The Fort Hamilton High School freshman’s self-confidence grew even more. “Before the surgery, I didn’t like to go out,” the teen said. “I wore a jacket outside, even when it was warm. I didn’t want to show my back to anyone.”

Now, almost four years after his surgery, Nodirjon is still doing well, saying “I’m happy, I’m comfortable and I go out all the time now. I don’t feel any pain in my back, even when I work out every week.” Nodirjon graduated from high school this year, and he says that it has been a tough road with many difficulties along the way. Nodirjon’s experiences with scoliosis in-spired him to volunteer at a local nursing home in high school, where he assisted doc-tors and patients in his free time. Currently Nodirjon is looking forward to enrolling in a local college this fall, with the hopes of completing his bachelor’s degree in premedical sciences. Nodirjon says, “I had some hard times in my life, and I’ve seen how the doctor helped so many sick people, so I want to become a doctor.” Now that his back is straight and he feels his best, he says he knows he can accomplish anything.