My Life After Spinal Surgery

The transition from elementary into middle school was tough, in fact I did not do well the first semester of that year. During these school years was unbeliebable the amount of people I met, especially my best friend. We used to play soccer a lot and ride bicycle all day long. Unfotunally, within those cheerful years my brother came to the US, which at the time felt like the worst thing that could've happened to me.

I grew up, as a child, normally like everyone else. In the fifth grade there was this girl in my class who, may I say, looked like The Hunchback of Notre Dame. At least that’s how I would have described it when I was that age. I used to feel really sorry for her because people bullied her for looking the way she did. I didn’t know the condition she had until two years later when I was diagnosed with the same thing. I was diagnosed with scoliosis—a sideways curvature of the spine—it was only mild, so there was nothing to be concerned about. As my body grew, the curves in my back increased to the point where the only option to slow their progress was for me to wear a back brace. The brace that I wore was composed of hard plastic that covered

My level of confidence has dramatically increased over the past few years of my life. In early 2013 I had braces put on and my doctor said that I was to wear them for at least two years. Having this metal put on instantly improved the way I felt about my smile because at least it covered up my crooked teeth. Going back several times a month and seeing the fast improvement in my teeth changed my life. I felt as if my

First few weeks of school did not go well for me. I felt like I was a rare animal at the zoo. People would point at me, speaking the language that I do not understand, and giggle. A non-stop talking kid suddenly became mute. At the time,

In the book Smile there was a character named Raina Telgemeler, she had to get braces. Raina thought that she didn’t need to get braces because her teeth looked fine. When she got braces she had felt insecure because of the way she looked, she thought that everyone will make fun of her and tease her. In the end when she got her braces taken off she felt more confident than ever. I can relate to that because when I had gotten braces I never wanted to smile for anything. I was self conscious that I had food stuck in it or just in general I felt different because I got my braces on at such an early age. After I had gotten it taken off I was beyond happy because it felt like my confidence had just went up so much. Getting braces is something that

My school life had changed when I came back, I was homeschooled for a little bit since I had missed so much school, when I went back I went to the classroom early so I wouldn't get pushed or shoved I left the classroom early or late so I wouldn't get pushed or shoved. The risk of raising my blood pressure the tiniest bit could mean deathly consequences for me. I had little to no friends because I was thought of weird. I wasn't able to go to P.E. or recess. When I went back to Iowa University Hospitals to get radio static surgery for treatment of the AVM the screws had left giant marks that needed to be cover by band-aids, So rest of second grade I wore two bandaids on my

I would literally have tears streaming down my face, but still try to smile and say “it’s okay mama, it’s worth it.” I never once complained about it. Finally the six months were up and I was ready for braces! I didn’t get them on immediately though, so you probably can tell I was a little upset but, I knew I would get them eventually and I did. Two weeks later, after they used spacers on the back of

After what seemed like an eternity, my braces were removed my sophomore year of high school, skyrocketing my poor confidence. After I stopped hiding my smile, I became fascinated with anything that dealt with teeth. The relationships formed with my dentist and orthodontist, the new smile I was constantly showing off, and the plethora of whitening strips I went through all lead me into realizing that I wanted to become an orthodontist and help people with their confidence.

I had to use the elevator and I had to have someone carry my stuff for me. I also had to have someone help me carry my lunch tray to my table. The result of not being able to do any of these simple things was that even though it was only a week, I was very annoyed. I felt absolutely helpless because I couldn’t do any of the things that I would usually be able to do. When I was using the ankle brace, I only had a little bit of trouble walking around for the first couple of days while I was using it. After the first few days though, my ankle was fine. These are the difficulties and struggles that I faced because of my

One of the hardest and most influential days of my life was when I started middle school. It was my first time switching schools in six years and I wasn’t sure I was ready to. Some of my friends had known me for those six years and some even more. I had all sorts of questions running through my head on the day of the orientation. Like, what if I don’t fit in or what if I get lost on my first day? All of these questions disappeared when I stepped into what would soon be my new school.

When I entered middle school I was suddenly thrust into reality. Not only was I suddenly demoted from being one of the oldest and most experienced students at the school to a lowly first year. I no longer had the advantage of being in one class with the same set of classmates the entire day. Making friends was not a natural occurrence. The size of the

I needed help picking up a pencil. I was forced to quit dance and stopped swimming. Shopping took hours because few pants stretched around the extra inches the brace gave me. I had constant skin irritation and rashes. The summer heat was unbearable underneath a brace, and I could literally wring drops of sweat out of my undershirt.

Scoliosis is described as an abnormal curvature of the spine in a sideways direction. The condition can be categorized as either a “C” curve or an “S” curve. Now, I have an “S” curve which means my spine has two curves, one to the left and one to the right, each different from the other. I first became diagnosed with this condition when I was

When my mom told me I was getting braces I didn’t really care. I was concerned that I was going to look stupid but that was my only concern. So After visiting the orthodontist to get my spacers in to make room for the brackets that go around my back teeth I had to wear those for about two weeks. Finally my next appointment came and that was the big one. We went in and I brushed my teeth then sat back down to wait to get called to go back into where they did all the adjustments and what not. They called my name and we simply got up and walked in. They told me to sit in a chair and wait for the doctor. We waited for about five minutes until the doctor came in. Once he did he got to work. They came out with this thing to put

On the other hand, when I went back to school the next day, I told all of my friends who have braces, well, all of my friends for that matter. I told my dad the next day, he looked at me and smiled, and then he laughed and I was just staring at him the whole time, and then he realized that I was looking at him. Then, he froze and said, “Oh, I thought you were excited about it”. I looked at him, and said, “No father, why in the WORLD would I be excited about braces?” So, my dad was kind of making fun of me for the rest of the day. But then when he came home for dinner, He told me that he had been praying for me! Isn't that so sweet and nice of him?