Laura’s Story

My name is Laura, I am 16 years old. I have shit scoliosis. I have no clue when my spine started to curve at all. I remember being about 12 and always noticing that I had a curve on one side of my tummy and the other was a little more flat. I never thought it wasn’t normal though. I just left it as it was. I had an eating disorder back then as well and now doctors blame my scoliosis on that saying that maybe my bones were just too weak and stuff. Makes sense but sounds kind of stupid at the same time. So my back never hurt at all up until last december. I’ve always had problems with the way I walk and my legs and arms randomly going numb and having a tingling like feeling. I went to a rheumatologist and he checked my knees out, asked me to walk, had me bend, all that bullshit. So he had me sit down and told me, “Well, the problem… I don’t see one that I can take care of. I see that your knees are too strong and you walk with your feet facing outwards due to a forward pelvic tilt. I also checked your back out and I’m going to need you to do some x-rays for me today. You have scoliosis, that is for sure. I just want to make sure you don’t need surgery.” I dealt with so much in such a short amount of time. I mean I always knew I walked really dumb. I walk like a duck or something and I stick my butt and stomach out without really meaning to. Later the Dr. came back in and handed me a prescription for some pain killers and told me to go get x-rays before I left the hospital that day. I got to the x-ray room thing and the nurse asked me to stand up straight and so I told her I was standing straight! I was confused, haha. I still had no idea what scoliosis even was! So she had me put a lead heart over my crotch area and she had me stand as straight as she could get me to stand which failed horribly because I kept losing balance. I got them done and asked to see them. She showed me and at that moment I understood what scoliosis was. My spine ended up having a 36 degree curve. I was told I was a little far from surgery and I had nothing I could do about it because I was supposedly done growing. False. I went to Shriner’s in Utah on April 4th and they told me that yes, my curve was a bit too small for surgery but since December my curve had changed. It was no longer just 36 degrees on my lower back. It changed to 18 upper and 25 lower. I see no change at all really. I feel even more crooked now. All I see is my collarbones sticking out more. But well, I did not/will not have surgery. I will not need bracing obviously. All I can do is live with it. As my Dr. had said. I don’t want to. Of course I don’t. No one wants to live in constant pain and feeling horrible over your spine being crooked as hell. Since december I have had physical therapy. That’s all I’ve been doing for it since it’s all I can do. I’ve been trying to lose weight now since they said that too would help so, might as well try. I have been walking with my feet straight now.. haha. My phys. therapist said it would help… it kind of does, I’ll admit. But now I just have to deal with having scoliosis, lordosis, kyphosis, and various health problems. But I am lucky in an odd way. I have connected with random people about scoliosis, raised awareness for it, and it’s made me want to be a healthier person. Sure, all health problems suck. But you should let at least one possible thing come out of it.