Amber's Story

Hi! My name is Amber, and last summer I was diagnosed with scoliosis. I am a dancer and athlete, so it was hard for me to hear. I was taken to my local gp, however, she was absolutely useless and couldn't do anything about it. This left me waiting for five months to get an appointment and x-rays and when I did, my thoracic curve was already at 43°, meaning that I would have to go through a major surgery to correct it...this was big news for me, as I had always thought I had mild scoliosis.
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I had an MRI scan, more appointments, and I was referred to Edinburgh where I met my amazing surgeon, Mr. Tsirikos. He was lovely! He told me I would get surgery on May 8th, 2018. I was upset as I had to miss a rock challenge that I had worked hard on :(. Coming up for surgery, my head wasn’t in the right place, so I decided to set up an instagram account to help others going through the same thing, which really helped. 

Before surgery, my curve was over 50° and I was in a lot of pain. Three months post-op, I have no regrets and can’t wait to get back dancing again! I remember feeling alone and scared when I was diagnosed - like the whole world was falling apart - but I learned that if you push through, the storm does clear. Stay strong and keep fighting!!! xx

Thanks for sharing your story, Amber! Reading about how hard your diagnosis was for you, but your ability to channel that energy into helping out our community and your recovery is a reminder that we’re bent, not broken! :)