Hi! I am a fourteen year old girl from Canada. I would love to be on the Scoliosis Teens Mailing List. When I was seven, I was diagnosed with juvenile scoliosis,with a double major curve. Coming from a smaller city, I did not know what scoliosis was, or anyone who even had scoliosis. I wore a boston brace for five years. It was sometimes hard,
not having anyone to talk to, besides my doctor. I also felt way different from other people because of my brace. Over the five years that I wore the brace, I wore it about 22 hours a day, even though I hated wearing it. After the
five years, my curves had progressed to a shocking 60 and my doctor said it was time to consider surgery. I was so scared. Where I come from, there is only one surgeon that performs scoliosis surgeries, and he does it mainly on
adults. He said that he could offer no correction in my curves, and since I had a large lump on my lower back,!
this devastated me.My parents and I travelled to Toronto, seeking a second opinion, and hoping that there was some alternative solution. Thankfully, there was. There was a international orthapedic surgeon who speciallized in children. Even more better was that he could offer
considerable correction. A few months later, my mom and I travelled to Toronto to undergo the surgeries. I was in two studies done on the types of rod implants in my back, and, which I found interesting, an emotional study on patients with scoliosis undergoing surgery.My two curves were
both around 90 when I went into surgery. During the first surgery,the surgeon released some of the ligaments in my back, mainly in the area of the lump on my back. They also took out some ribs, which were to be used in the second surgery. After the first surgery, I had the option to be in traction, which would produce more correction, and I chose it. Screws were placed in my legs and head, and they were attached to a halo. I was in a special bed that allowed me to be "flipped".The bed was turnable, so every 4 hours I would lie on my back, and then I would be "flipped" to my
stomach for another 4 hours. There were weights hanging from the halo and my feets so I would be stretched, providing some correction to my back. This lasted for two weeks. It was probably the toughest time of my life. I
didn't sleep at all during the night. They gave me a special high in fat mixture through my IV, because I would have to be fed through a tube through my stomach if I didn't get enough food.Worst of all, I couldn't move, only my arms.I was so happy the day of my second surgery, because I would get out of traction. The second surgery involved placing the rods in my back, and crushing the ribs from my first surgery into a powder and placing the powder
along my spine so it would be fused. It was successful, and after two more weeks in the hospital recovering, I left for
home with a completely straight back, and with a 40 curve. I was so happy.
So that is my story. It's been almost a year after my surgery, and my back is great. All of it was worth it, because now I have a straight back, and I'm "brace-free. I'd love to answer anybody's questions, or just talk with
other teens with scoliosis. I know what it feels like to feel alone, when no one else knows or understands what you're going through. I don't want anybody else
to feel this way, and I'd love to help. Thank you. PLEASE SEND ME YOUR STORIES!!
My name is Meghann Beth and I am 17. I found out that I had severe scoliosis when I was 14. Up until then, I had been a ballet dancer. I studied at a professional ballet school and planned on attending the American Ballet Academy. I began to wear a brace, from my neck down onto my hips, right away in hopes of correcting it. Getting molded for the brace was frightening! Later that year, I had a spinal fusion done. This did not seem to help, so the next year a different doctor tried again. Meanwhile, it was becoming more and more painful to walk and I could no longer dance on pointe. My arms hurt to move too...I didn't know scoliosis affected the arms also?! Doctors then decided that surgery (in the thoratic region) was necessary. I hoped it would alleviate some of the pain, but there were complications during the operation. Thanks to the complications, I am now paralyzed from the middle of my chest down. My shoulders are in constant pain and my neck is always stiff. Does anyone else experience arm pain? Anyhow, that is my experience with scoliosis! What a bummer it is!
I've had problems with my hips and legs since the week after I was born. When I was in Kindergarden I had to wear these leg braces on 24/7 for 2 years. Do you have any clue what it's like to have kids not want to play with you because
they think your some kind of monster?!? When I was in second grade the doctors finally did a test on me and determined that I had severe scoliosis. After that I was fitted for a back brace which I wore till I was in seventh
grade. It was horrible. I remember before all this happened I could do cart wheels, and it felt great. Now I was terrified to go out and play, thinking I might hurt myself, and also the brace was so thick that it was way to hot for me, and I'd pass out from the heat. When I was in seventh grade my spine got so bad they had to immediatly go in and do surgery. Not even 6 months later I felt a huge bump on my lower spine. The bottom half of my rod had come out of my spine. They went in again and took it out. Two months later the same thing happend to the top portion of my back. And again they went in to get it out. They diagnosed me with osteoporis. In almost a years time I was 13 and had gone through 3 back surgeries. I was in bed most of this time and lying on my back. My back starting breaking out w/ acne. A few months later the acne got so bad that they bled all the time, and felt as if they d never go away. I was unhappy with my life, and
so i felt it was time to make a change. I had gone to a private schoool almost all my life and everyone knew me, and who I was. In my junior year in highschool I decided to go to a public school. No one knew who I was or what I had. I felt somewhat normal.
Life felt like it was getting better, and to keep it that way, I never told anyone that I had scoliosis. I tried my best to hide it, but it was hard because I had three diffrent curves on my spine. Two that made my spine look like an "S" and a third that gave me a small hump in the middle of my back. I always wore baggy clothes to hide it. By my senior year in highschool everything fit perfect and then the doctors ran test to check on my osteoporis. They said I had enough calcium. So they went in, but this time not on my back but on my left side. I went in excited
thinking I was finaly going to be normal. But not even 2 hours later I came out of surgery so the doctors could tell me that they were not able to do anything. I still had osteoporis, but not because of lack of calcium, but because of a lack of Vitamen D "the sunshine vitamen". I missed my prom, and almost missed out on my graduation, and what did I have to show for it?? Two huge scars going down my body, and kiloids on my back. I was angry with the world. During that summer of 99 I recovered from the last surgery that I had, and my friends were over a lot to chill with me and be there for me. I'll admit the scoliosis part sucks, I dont think I'll ever feel like a normal person, much less have the body of one. My spine is so curved that I have the body of a crushed coke can. I'm suppose to be 5' 8" and I'm only 5'4". It still makes me cry every now and then but I keep hoping and praying that something will happen. And I thank God that its not worse, like i'm
paralyzed or dead. I'm seeing a new scoliosis doctor on the 12th because my last one retired. I had seen him since I was 2. And now at 20 it upsets me to think that I'm going to have to get a new doctor because the last one knew
everything about me. Oh well. Wish me luck!
PLEASE SEND ME YOUR STORIES!!!!! |
