My Scoliosis: A Personal Experience Of Child Abuse

I started gymnastics when I was five years old. It was the best time of my life, it was considered my home. I always wanted to be in the gym watching the “big girls” and work on skills that I needed and the ones that I already had. I always wanted to look and act likes these “big girls,” but then I got a bike-tard. This thing was bubble-gum pink and had all sorts of flower and stars that looked like a little kid drew all over it, and the biggest problem was it had built in shorts. I hated every shade of pink that there could ever be, and it was not the same type of thing that the big girls wore. When I wore these bike-tards the world turned upside down. All of the older girls looked at me as if I were something else. Some would even point and laugh. All I thought of was everyone looking at me and some were even laughing. I couldn’t concentrate with all of these people looking at me. From this point on I would never wear that thing again! I begged and

Later that night, I would find out that I fractured my femur, clean into two. My doctor told me that I would be out from sports for at least nine to twelve months since it was an extreme injury. Normally, with being an athletic person, I was absolutely devastated. I knew that it was going to be a long recovery, but I did not know that it was going to be a mental setback as much as physical. At first it was nice to have my loved ones come around all the time to visit me and check up on me, but after a while they all moved on. They all headed off to enjoy their summer while I laid on the couch watching television and attempting to do some leg exercises. I had to have help with everything, which led to many arguments. Being independent, I abhorred the fact that I needed help with the simplest things, such as grabbing the remote or even getting up. I became so upset about it that I quit arguing about it. It led me into a lazy mindset that made me not feel as motivated to do things. Once I started physical therapy it felt as though nothing was changing. On our first day we had to so electroshock therapy on my thigh because I could not move the muscles on my

I walk into the cold, white hospital, my hands are sweating and my knees are shaking. Even though I have done this every six months since I was twelve years old, it never gets easier. I find a seat in the corner of the waiting room, embarrassed by the large, plastic, butterfly printed scoliosis brace I hold tightly against my side. The door opens, a nurse dressed in plain navy blue scrubs calls out “Emma for Dr. Meyers”. She leads my mom and me down a long hallway, and into a small, brightly lit room. The curse that is scoliosis is hereditary, which means my mom has it, and each of my sisters has been touched by this cruel disease that bends the spine as well. Scoliosis is a curvature of the spine that occurs during the growth period just before and through puberty.

There’s things in life that everyone takes pride in, things that they won't ever be ashamed of. I have so much to be proud of especially in myself. After having Spinal Fusion surgery, i’ve done things I never thought I would be able to do, and one of them is learning to find my balance and walk again.

I generally had a very active lifestyle. I did essentially everything a young child could dream of from baseball, football, riding dirt bikes, and building tree houses. I would get into anything and everything as a young boy, even into my early 20’s. Around the age of 16, I began to develop unexplainable back pain that would. I never considered anything of it since I worked at Turtles Moving Company in my extra time and was into a great deal of sports. When I was 17 I decided I wanted to become a firefighter. During my junior and senior years I went to Scarlet Oaks which is a vocational school. I attended classes and training for firefighting and ems. I landed a position directly after graduation. I have always had a physical was of life so having a physical demanding occupation would fit perfect into my life. After working with the fire department for some time I began to have more pain in my lower back and hips. After talking with multiple doctors, who all considered something different, my family doctor saw something in my x-rays. He then sent me to get more x-rays and tests. After a considerable measure of tests and hospital expenses, my doctor found out why I was having so much unexplainable torment. I had Ankylosing Spondylitis otherwise called A.S. for short. At this point when my doctor explained to me what A.S. was, I was lost. I did not realize what to do or where to seek help.

Post-surgery was the most difficult part of this journey because it put me in a depressed state. The inability of playing sports and watching my teammates play

When I woke up in the SICU, about a week later, I wasn’t sure what was going on. I found out that I ran head-on into a ditch & a cement culvert, going about 60mph, rolled my car about 3 times and landed against a tree. I ended up braking 7 of my ribs, the vertebrae in the top of my neck and 3 vertebrae in my lower spinal column. I also broke both the tibia and fibula in my left leg, pinched my spinal cord and my right lung collapsed. Also, the first night, my heart quit beating twice. I couldn’t breathe on my own and was vegetative. After leaving the SICU, I had to spend 4 months in an inpatient rehab hospital. Doctors told me that because of my point of injury, all I should ever be able to do is turn my head and shrug my shoulders. I might not EVER be able to live without the ventilator, which meant I may never breathe on my own. I learned how to breathe, talk and feed myself again. Furthermore, I had to work really hard to be able to write, use the remote, use the telephone & stand on my own again. I had hours upon hours of therapy to get my arms, legs, fingers & toes to working order again. I am still in a wheelchair, but only my left hand and leg don’t work. Also, I don’t even have a trachea anymore. I get to continue being a mother to a beautiful 12 year old daughter and am even in college, working towards a bachelor degree in elementary education. This event also made me a true believer of God, He is the one who saved

Before the surgery, never have I ever believed in my abilities or my beauty. In other words, my confidence never shift above zero since I constantly compared myself to every other person borned in America. I empathize everybody problem, but never have I empathize my own troubles. The surgery numbness side-effects from the surgery and the intolerable pain made me realize being different and unique to myself is far more important than trying to compete with other people. Although my growth flourish later than others, self acceptance helped me to develop selfishness for I grow more confidence communicating with other people besides my family members.

I never would have thought that ninth grade year would be the toughest year of my life. I went from being able to do all kinds of physical activities to being on crutches. I was on crutches two weeks longer than my surgeon expected. Even after the crutches nothing seemed the same. The best way for me to get back to my old self was to attend physical therapy sessions twice a week. Even to this day I can feel a part of me is missing. I would soon begin to get my mobility back as my therapy sessions progressed throughout several weeks.

I remember one day in class my friends would always tease me and this other girl because our chest wasn't large like theirs. But I wasn't mad I would tell them that's why when yall get older your chest is going to be sagging all the way to the ground. And pulse if we could wear half shirts if we wanted to without it looking weird or too tight. My feet were so small. I wore a size four for like two years. While everybody else feet was growing. I didn't mind because my shoes costed less.

When she found out, the doctors said she would have to wear a brace for about 20 hours a day. GiGi’s mom was also diagnosed with Scoliosis as a kid and had to wear a brace as well. From wearing the brace, GiGi suffered from heat rashes and being uncomfortable

Alongside that, being an athlete, I had the typical sprain of the ankle or weak joint that would I need physical therapy to heal. Consequently physical therapy was not a new or an alarming concept to me. I went to physical therapy for a duration of one year, in terms of my hips. I attended three times a week after my surgery. Rolling my wheelchair in the front door and hearing my physical therapist say my name put a grin on my face that was from ear to ear. Each little milestone was colossal for me, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. Transferring from the wheelchair to the walker, then from the walker to crutches, from two crutches to one, then walking, and the substantial one was running. My physical therapist made sure that I understood everything that happened to me and each step that we took in my recovery process. After I completed my physical therapy and could return to sports; if I had any questions or concerns, he was always there. I aspire to be that person for other people. I desire to guide others down the right recovery path, and be their light at the end of the

I started doing physical therapy immediately, then three days later I could not move my legs. They ran more test and then the doctors saw I have broken my back. I was care flight to Cooks Children Medical Hospital where more test was ran. I was told I had a broken back and could never walk again also the growth plait in my hand was put on backwards and internal bleeding. The hardest thing for me was never being able to walk again, I was an athlete I played volleyball. I prayed really hard before my first back surgery. I came out of surgery ten hours later; I was in bed ridden for five days, the fifth day I was determined to stand on my own. My mother lifted me up out of the hospital bed and I fell and then after 3 attempts I was ready to give up and except my life as a handy cap. My mom pushed me to stand one more time and this time I stood with my mom’s help I took my

A year later preparing to transition into civilian life I had gotten x-rays and an MRI for diagnosis of my physical condition for my disability claim. Come to find out that I had nerve damage and a compressed disc in my lower left back. Sneaking up on me one day in 2014, confined in pain, bringing my normal walk to and almost crawl for nearly three weeks and once again in 2015. Scheduling a chiropractor, these sessions helped for a while to try and realign my lower back relieving some of the pain to walk normal once more. Since I retired a little over a year ago, I made a commitment to myself to maintain a good physical condition through exercising, stretching, and dieting to extend my mortality every

Hello, Jackie, I know being diagnosed with scoliosis had to be a challenging and a frightening thing, to happen to you. I am glad due to technology that you were able to wear the back brace under your clothes and no one notice it. I can understand about thinking everyone is looking at you wondering what’s going on because I had a particular situation and thought the same thing. Most of the time it is all in our mind thinking someone is watching or talking about us, because of what we are going through, but it is usually our insecurities. In actuality, people are not even paying attention to us. It is wonderful that you had both of your parent to encourage you, and what is more, wonderful you grow up having both parents in your life. I