Before I found out: Life before my surgery was normal. We had never realized I had scoliosis
until we went to the doctor. I was on the swim and dive team, played softball and soccer, and
never had any back-related pain.

When I found out: It was a normal doctor’s checkup, so we thought, and everything was fine.
They said I was the healthiest kiddo they’d seen all year. Suddenly, they said they needed to go
talk to an associate and they would be back soon. When they came back, they handed my mom
a piece of paper and told her to go see a specialist. I couldn’t see what it was about, so I was
very confused as to why we needed to go see another doctor. All my mom told me was that we
needed to do it and I would find out in a bit.

We went to go see the specialist they recommended about a week later. As we were on our
way my mom kind of filled me in on what was going on. I was only 12 so I really didn’t understand
the importance of the situation. When we got there, I had to get some X-rays done. Then we
waited for the doctor to come to talk to us. When he did I was able to understand more of why
we were there. He informed us I had a 52-degree curvature, and my spine was twisted as well.
He told us I could wear a brace if I wanted to, but it wouldn’t be good long term and that
surgery was our best bet.

Surgery: We ended up going to Mayo Clinic in Rochester for my surgery. Before the surgery, I
was offered to be a part of two different studies. The first one was whether screw amount
made a difference in progress or surgery. They ended up going with 16 screws instead of 12.
The other study I was a part of was tissue research. They asked me permission to take my tissue
instead of throwing it away to see if my DNA or certain components make a difference of who
has scoliosis as well as development on spinal fusion surgeries and how to make them better.
Since I was younger the experience was very scary. Luckily my parents could stay with me most
of the time but when they rolled me away to the surgery room, it wasn’t easy to go alone.
Luckily, the anesthesia kicked in and made me think my nurse was my old neighbor, so I ended
up being fine.

Recovery: After my surgery, I stayed in the hospital for almost 2 weeks. I was so excited to go
home but was not prepared for the pain that entitled. The car ride was an hour long and
every…single…bump in the road infused my back with pain. Getting home felt amazing though.
My parents set it up, so I finally had a TV in my room and everything! My grandparents came
and stayed with us for about 3 weeks. My grandpa sadly had to go back home to Missouri for
work, but since my grandma had retired when I was younger, she was able to stay home with
me for nearly two months so my parents could go back to work.

The recovery felt very long and hard. Even reaching into the cabinet to grab a plate was an
accomplishment. There were times that I would sit down, be fine, and then 10 minutes later I
felt like I needed to stand up in order to help the pain. I would do so and 10 minutes later again
I would need to sit down for the pain. This happened anytime I was on a hard-surfaced chair,
even with a pillow. Finally, after about 2 months of having a tutor come to my house to give me
my school assignments and such, I was able to do half days at school for about a month or two.
It felt great to be able to see my friends again and not be isolated at home! The teachers let me
leave class 5 minutes early so I could get to my next class before the hallway rush started.
Unfortunately, there were a few people who didn’t like the idea of being treated “special” due
to medical surgery. Because of the chairs at school being so hard, I had to bring a pillow with
me, so my back didn’t hurt. I also had to use a purse instead of a backpack because of the
weight. I had multiple students who felt the need to vocalize that it wasn’t fair I could bring a
pillow and such and even go as far as trying to take it when I wasn’t looking. The bullying was
not fun to deal with. At one point I had someone purposely trip me in the hallway just because
they thought it was funny. Finally, after 6 months, everything went back to normal.

Life afterward: I was able to rejoin my diving team and join the color guard after my full 6-month
recovery. My surgeons were very surprised at how quickly I was able to jump back after my
surgery. Since then, I do have had lower back pain because that’s the only part that’s not fused.
Otherwise, I have had a fantastic life and greatly thank Dr. Larson and her team for helping me
have a better life after my surgery!