Patient Stories

The Life of Scoliosis

Starting from the beginning in 2012 I was diagnosed with scoliosis. Looking back then, I had no idea I had it. I was never in pain, but maybe that was because I was so young. I am sure I was super crooked, but my parents always assumed I was standing on my hip like the sassy girl I was. After the doctors told me I had scoliosis they had me wear a brace for 18 hours a day to try to correct the curve. My scoliosis was caught late so the brace had a small chance to correct my spine with how severe the curve already was. In July of that year is when I had to get my surgery. All my friends and family were there for the whole 8 hours the surgery took. After the surgery was my journey with two new titanium rods infused in my spine. Those 2 months of recovering was the worst pain in my life. I had many sleepless nights laying on the living room floor in pain. I give love and thanks to my family and friends who stood by my side to get me back to full recovery. I had to go through many bandage changes, many hot walks, and going to physical therapy. I knew I was a strong girl because within a month I was hitting tennis balls with my dad. Scoliosis was a big shock in my life, but it was not going to take away the motivation inside me to stay strong.

During my journey with scoliosis surgery I had to learn I was not capable of doing everything. One proud thing I can say is that I have perfect posture. Due to my rods being in my mid to upper back I am unable to bend my upper back. With that being said it can cause a lot of tension and soreness in my lower back. Addition to my spine curve, my spine had popped out my right shoulder blade. My shoulder blade being popped out is thankfully not at the severity of needing surgery. I now just have an addition to my crazy back problems. I knew I was going to have to deal with soreness and pain when it came to having rods in my spine and a popped out shoulder blade. As I said before, scoliosis is not taking away my spirit. From then to now I am still very active. Through the rest of middle school and college I was involved with volleyball, track, tennis, and working out. I love being active and the one thing I am passionate about is playing tennis. If I did not tell someone I had scoliosis they would not even have noticed due to how strong and motivated I was. There was even a time I took on yoga and the instructor was thrilled on how good I did and also mentioned she could not notice.

Any chance I get to talk about my scoliosis is thrilling as I hope I can inspire others who might need the motivation or push in achieving their goals. The 18 inch scar
that I have is a part of me and any chance I can show it off I do it. I show off my scar to share how strong I am that I am still able to be active even if I did have a major surgery. Not everyone knows what scoliosis is and I love being able to share my story and awareness. With having scoliosis I love all the questions and curiosity it brings from people. My most favorite question I get asked is if I can have the rods removed. It is a good question, but also silly. My rods are a part of me and this is who I am. I am proud of the women I became and scoliosis made me stronger and more motivated.