The Story of my Lateral Curve
I was diagnosed with scoliosis on May 29, 1998, when I was 13 years old. Several months prior to that, my mom had noticed my shoulders were uneven. Some other physical symptoms of scoliosis that I had were:
Uneven hips
Uneven chest
One shoulder blade protruding out further than the other
Rib hump when I bent forward
When I went to my family doctor, she told me that I did have scoliosis. Scoliosis is a lateral curvature of the spine, and it appeared that I had an S-shaped curve. I went to see an orthopedic surgeon not long after that, and upon a spinal x-ray, I found out that the larger curve at the time was 32 degrees. Curves that are in the 20-30 range usually require bracing. My doctor wanted me to start wearing a brace.
My first brace was a Charleston bending brace. This was a brace that bent my body the opposite way of the curve, and I only wore it at night. I did not have problems with it at all, and no one outside of my family would see me wear it.
In September 1998, I went back for another appointment. I discovered that my curve had increased to 38 degrees - in just 4 months it had worsened 6 degrees. In November 1998, I started going to the Shriner's Hospital for Children. There are Shriner's hospitals located all around the U.S. and they treat children with orthopaedic problems. They even have some burn centers, too. Anyhow, when I first started going to Shriner's, the doctor recommended that I go into full-time bracing with a Boston TLSO (thoracic lumbar sacral orthosis).
At first, I wore the brace well. In fact, I wore it 23 hours a day like I was supposed to. But if I was to be fully compliant with what the doctor recommended, it meant that I had to stop taking some dance classes. I was very much into dancing at the time and was taking 6 classes a week.
This was devastating news for me. I was very sad, and it took some time to get used to my new schedule. I got angry because of simple things I had to do carefully or differently - take bending, for instance. It was hard to bend down, and if I did, the brace would stick out of my shorts. Clothing was another issue. I was always wearing bigger shirts and baggier pants to fit over my brace. I was sad that I couldn't wear prettier clothes that other girls my age were wearing. As an adolescent, trying to deal with acceptance among peers, one can imagine how difficult of a time this was to be wearing the brace. Also I had to wear an undershirt under the brace, which got sweaty during warmer weather. My skin had sore spots sometimes. Since I got my brace in December, I was afraid that people would notice it while I was at school. It turns out that they didn't, unless I told them I was wearing a brace.
The picture above is of my lovely TLSO. The writing on there is by Lisa Williams, a former radio host from Z 88.3 (a contemporary Christian station back in my hometown). She autographed my brace at Rock the Universe (1999), which was a 2-night concert at Universal Studios featuring various Christian artists.
I got angry because it was hard for me to get used to having this brace attached to me all day, plus all the other things I mentioned, especially the dancing, because dancing was my life at the time. It's amazing how one thing can be such a big part of your life and then that can change so suddenly. In my case, dance was such a big part of my life at the time. But God had other plans in mind. With God's help I discovered that through this situation, I would become a stronger person, able to persevere through adversities in life. It sure did make me stronger.
When I started having the urological issues, I stopped wearing the brace. My orthopedic surgeon didn't know that I had stopped wearing the brace then, but it turned out to be okay because my curve was the same when I went back for my 6-month checkup. Even a year later, the curve remained the same at about a 38 degree thoracic curve. I stopped wearing the brace in 2000. My last appointment ever at Shriner's was on May 20, 2003. They took good care of me.
Wearing the brace was the first of a few hardships I had to go through in my adolescent life. Living with scoliosis has made life interesting, strengthened me, inspired me to share my story with anyone who wants to listen, allowed me to encourage others who may also be affected by scoliosis (either directly or indirectly), and has allowed me to educate others about the condition.
I remember having thoughts of melting my brace and turning it into a lamp (I heard this idea somewhere), but I never did. My two braces are sitting up in my closet at home. I don't think I could ever part with them now. They have had a big impact on my life and are a reminder of what I have been able to overcome. It was a humbling and growing experience.
06-01-08 UPDATE!
At the advice of my urologist a few years ago and of a well-known orthopedic surgeon, I went ahead and set up an appointment for a spine check-up on May 6, 2008! I was very excited about this, as I had not had a spine check-up for the past 5 years.
I was told that scoliosis may progress into adulthood, depending on the severity of the curve when an individual stopped growing. Thus it was a good idea to get a spine x-ray. I went to see my original orthopedic surgeon, the one I had seen 10 years ago - yes, it had been that long! I had a spine x-ray as well as a neck x-ray (due to the the soreness I had been having when keeping my neck in one position for some time). The PA that worked with my orthopedic surgeon measured my larger curve at 39 degrees - basically, it hadn't changed. That is great news, no surgery needed at this time. I was told to come back in 2 years for follow-up.
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