“The hospital, staff, surgeons, and everyone that aided in my surgery were extremely nice and understanding. They talked me and my parents through everything. They helped me comprehend what was going on, and taught me how to walk, step, stand up, sit up, etc again. Although it can be hard for me to remember the specifics with all of the medication and severity of being overwhelmed, I know everyone made the experience go well.”
What was your reaction to the scoliosis diagnosis?
I was a kid, so I did not understand fully what it was. At the time it wasn’t really impacting me so I went about my everyday life. But the people around me, like my parents, were able to see how I looked physically. My spine was not straight, one shoulder was higher than the other, and my ribs were sticking out on one side of my back looking like a hump.
Was scoliosis impacting your life? If so, how?
When the curves developed dramatically, it made a difference in my lifestyle. I have a distinct memory of actually using the “hump” of my ribs to cheat doing sit-ups, this led to me never learning how to actually do a sit-ups, never using my abs and instead my back. While dancing I was flexible, but it was noticeable in my dance costumes that I was curved. When I was in cross country, I had trouble controlling my breathing because we found out at the last minute that my lungs were deflating. At a point in my life I had to wear a nightly brace and then a 24/7 brace for a few years. At first the braces were slowing down my curves, and then it began dramatically increasing again. Not only could people physically see my curved spine, uneven shoulders, and twisted ribs, it was affecting me internally. As I grew older, I was aware of the situation but I wanted to ignore what was happening because I didn’t know anyone else going through the same thing. None of my friends or family had scoliosis as severe as mine.
My mom was told by a doctor that the surgery with the rods and no flexibility was the only option, but she did her own research and found ASC online.
What was your recovery period experience like?
For a major surgery, the recovery period seemed very short. I spent about a week in the hospital and the Ronald McDonald house. While I was home my family and friends visited me, helped me practice walking around the house, sat outside with me, and practiced some small exercises. Six weeks after surgery I started physical therapy and sitting in on dance classes and walking through the dances. At eight weeks I performed in my schools variety show doing my dance solo. Four months after my surgery I performed all of my dances at a dance competition, and continued onto the other competitions and the end of the year recital. Dance was and will always be my therapy and physical activity. After graduating high school, I am now into my third year of college at SUNY Potsdam and I am graduating a year early with my Bachelors in Criminal Justice and Social Justice. While in college, I have participated in 5Ks, dance classes, many clubs, a variety of desk and outdoor jobs, a Probation Department summer internship, and a police academy where I did jiu jitsu, self defense, physical training, written/oral/physical exams, and many more. I went to my fifth year post surgery appointment and everything was great, I won’t need to go back until my tenth year post op. I have applied to my masters in mental health counseling and I will continue my dancing career for fun. I would like to find a gym that I can continue learning more about self defense and jiu jitsu. I have referred multiple peers to the ASC surgery and they have also been very happy with the results. Without this surgery, at this stage in my life I would be very limited and unhappy and most likely would not have taken on the opportunities that I have been glad to participate in.
Have you resumed all activities?
Yes, and more. Dance classes, dance concerts, yoga, basketball with my brother, self defense & joy jitsu when I was in the Potsdam police academy fall 2022, dance ensemble club, other clubs, going on walks with friends, camping, hiking, indoor rock climbing, axe throwing.