 Hi! My name is Laura, I’m 22, and I’m from Mexico. I had idiopathic scoliosis, so I wore a brace for four years, which was hard. Many people made fun of me, plus bracing didn’t work, so I decided to have surgery at age 13.
In the first surgery, my right lung deflated, so I had to have a second surgery to correct it - each surgery was 5-9 hours!
When I turned 21, I had scoliosis surgery again, which took 14 hours, and still didn’t correct 100% of my curve, but it corrected it enough to calm my insecurities, and with time, I learned to accept myself for who I am.  I used to be ashamed of wearing backless dresses, but now, I love sharing my scar with the world, and I accept and love myself as I am.
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 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. 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! :)  I was diagnosed with scoliosis at 9 years old by a pediatrician. My family and I then went to an orthopedic doctor and after a couple of months of my curve increasing, we decided to brace. I wore the Providence brace for 2 years, only at night. After that, I didn't have to wear the brace and my curve was stable at 30 degrees. I tried going to a chiropractor for 2 years, which unfortunately, didn't help. I then went to another doctor and was told that the curve had increased to 48 degrees. 4 months later, we went back to see if the curve increased and it had again increased to 52 degrees. We then made the decision to have surgery in the summer of 2017. I had the surgery July 11th, 2017. I had 2 Cobalt-Chrome rods and 19 Titanium screws inserted in my spine from T4-L3. I was in pediatric intensive care unit for 2 days and I sat up in the chair the day after surgery! After that, I was moved to the general pediatric floor for 3 days. I was walking and doing stairs on post op days 3 and 4! I stayed in the hospital for 5 days. Everyday got better after about 2 weeks! I was doing some things by a month! I walked everyday and watched a lot of tv shows! I had several friends visit! 2 of my friends Izzy and Julia had the same surgery, so they gave me a ton of tips and helped answer any questions I had.  I have always been a runner: I’ve done cross country, track, ran a half marathon before surgery, and several other races. I was able to do spring track since I was 8 months post op, which was the best track season ever! I then did a half marathon with a friend at 11 months post op and was able to get a personal best of 1:59:12! I love to run and thought it was going to take a while to be able to run again, but I’ve been more thankful than ever now that I am able to run after having this major surgery.
I turned 1 year post op on July 11th, and time has gone by so fast - things were so different a year ago. I was just recovering from surgery last July. It may of have been a long recovery, but I learned so much from this big adventure and experience! It changed my life, taught me many lessons and helped me become stronger! Thanks for sharing your story, Colette! It is so inspiring to hear about your successes after surgery, and hearing about your experience is a reminder that we’re bent, not broken! :) |
How to Share your storyTo share your story, contact me through the contact page. All stories are encouraged...whether you are a scoliosis patient yourself or know someone with scoliosis, your story would be much appreciated! Hi, I'm Kate.A 16 year old SoCal-raised student, swimmer, and scoliosis patient with a love for Netflix, Pinterest, and Harry Potter. 
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