Hello, I am Simrena Atwal, and I underwent Vertebral Body Tethering (VBT) surgery at the age of 11. My journey through scoliosis felt like a rollercoaster ride I never wanted to be on. The pain hurt so much that I thought I couldn’t handle it at times. I was terrified of what was happening to my body. But amid all the struggles, I discovered a strength within me I never knew existed. Scoliosis may have knocked me down, but it didn’t keep me there. Here is my story of navigating through scoliosis.
I was initially diagnosed with thoracic scoliosis in November of 2021. My family and I had no idea how significant this was, as we hadn’t heard much about scoliosis before. My mum originally sent me to the local physiotherapist as she thought I was slouching too much. I first found out that I had scoliosis during one of these appointments. They referred us to the specialized Scoli Clinic in Vancouver, BC, where we started strengthening exercises to reduce the curve. However, as weeks passed, nothing seemed to help; the curve worsened. Finally, I went to BC Children’s Hospital, where I had my first appointment with the orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Miyanji. During this first appointment, we learned the different kinds of solutions to scoliosis.
At my follow-up appointment, I learned I had a 54-degree curve and needed emergency surgery. I was in the perfect time bracket in my puberty growth, and I was eligible for the VBT surgery. That same day, I also received the news that my surgery was happening in two weeks. In a way, I believe the speed of the pre-surgery process helped me a lot, as I didn’t have much time to anticipate what was going to happen to me. Nevertheless, I was still very worried about the surgery. Eventually, the day of my surgery came: January 26th, 2022. As you can imagine, I was scared out of my mind. But I stuck it out and did it! The surgery was successful, bringing my curve to 24 degrees, down from 54 degrees.
The recovery process overall was manageable, but the most challenging part for me was not feeling normal. After the VBT surgery, my full recovery was six months (I could start physical activity at three months). But my family and friends were still treating me like I was an alien and sort of “babying me.” At the beginning of my recovery process, it felt like no one close to me understood what I was going through: the pain, the mood swings, and the thoughts of “will I ever be normal again?” or “why can’t I walk or breathe normally?” in those first few days. Eventually, I realized everyone was just trying to help me and ensure I was alright, and it really helped to have them be there for me at all times. As the weeks went by, my body strengthened, became more flexible, and moved me towards being back to normal.
Reflecting on the pre- and post-operative phases, I take pride in how I overcame these challenges and appreciate the amazing support I received. Initially, the thought of undergoing such a surgery seemed unimaginable. Now, however, having completed it successfully, I feel empowered to tackle this obstacle and many others. My everyday life is completely normal now, to the point where there are days when I forget I even had surgery! I love opportunities like this to share my story and shine a light on this procedure to others.
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