Personal Narrative: The Scar Running Down My Back

In my head I was scared I was paralyzed and that I would never walk again. Scoliosis scarred me for life because the pain subsides in my forever now. It hasn’t gone away since the surgery it is only tolerable now. My memories from the hospital stay consist of lying on the striker frame in pain, staring at the floor or the ceiling depending upon the way I was positioned. Every fiber in my body wanted to move, but the process of moving was unbearable. Only two days after my surgery they started having me try to walk to the bathroom on my own, I needed assistance the first couple of tries but after a while I could walk on my own. Sitting up or in a chair was another thing, I was only relearning the muscle movements for my back, but I couldn’t stand the pain and my stomach couldn’t keep the food down. I cried every day because I couldn’t do things for myself, I was mad at the world for putting me through pain. After about a week in recovery I was sent home, but there were problems there too. After 3 months I was able to finally sit in a chair for a long period of time, lay in my bed, run, and do every day things on my own again. I learning an important lesson through this; you don’t become successful without working for and the occasional obstacle. Spine surgery changes a person. It can fix

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.

The first time I visited the hospital that gloomy day in October, they told me and my parents that I had a curvature in my spine that was 36 degrees. They told us all of the information that we needed to keep me more comfortable instead of being in constant pain. Another piece of information they gave us was that scoliosis was not curable, and that I will always have it. In between the first and second visit to ACH, was 6 months of pain, which was mostly caused by the sports activities that I participated in. When we arrived, I went back and got my scans, we then found out that the worse curvature had increased a total of 12 degrees. That meant that the curve was now 48 degrees. My doctor recommended surgery, since a brace was normally for scoliosis in the early stages. My spine was beyond the point of a brace or exercises and physical therapy fixing it. “Surgery?” I asked.

I don't like to make excuses. I won't make excuses. But I feel I need to explain a little of what I went through to get an essence of who I have become today. I was diagnosed with scoliosis in freshman year of high school. Scoliosis is basically an abnormally large curve of the spine. Life threatening - no. Life altering - yes.

Growing up I’ve faced many challenges, my self-confidence being the biggest issue of them all, never feeling I was normal or could fit in and let me tell you, it’s a tough way to live like that for anyone. The reason I felt like the kid everybody thought had cooties causing them to run away from on the playground was because I was born with a unique birthmark called hemangioma. The birthmark happened to be on my bottom lip and chin. A hemangioma is a benign tumor filled with rapid growing blood vessels, it required two surgeries for removal and serval for repairs in my case. Luckily I’ve come a long way of what my birthmark was in the beginning to how it appears now, which is minor scars in both my bottom lip and chin.

I was born with congenital scoliosis, I guess you can say it has always been significant, not exactly something you could overcome. I was always the one to raise her hand and not afraid to speak , as I got older people began asking me questions about my “problem” on why I couldn’t participate in the physical education activities. It began affecting me because I was asked on a daily basis and at one point I was told “no one with scoliosis will ever be a doctor”, “you will never go on to college, what makes you think you can and your “normal” cousins couldn’t?” During high school I lost the little self-esteem I had, I tried to stay home as many days as possible, even at one point I had hoped to get hit by a car, rather than go to school and be

Scoliosis can range from being minor, to severe meaning it can impair the bodies neurological, hormonal, and nutritional systems. In some cases, it can also be a progressive disease; the more it evolves, the more the vertebrae will rotate, which in severe cases, causes the ribs to crowd together on a single side along with the chest spreading apart on the opposite side, leading to difficulties breathing. It is usually first detected between the ages of 10-17 and is very important to monitor during the early stages in order to decrease progression. Scoliosis has no cure, however, there are ways to treat it. Without treatment, these issues can prolong and even lead to the inability to ever walk again. Early diagnosis is an important factor in preventing scoliosis to progress or worsen later in the patients’ life (Weiss et al 2006). Scoliosis can be prevented or progression can be completely stopped by maintaining a healthy life style and seeing a doctor

It’s been a year since the incident. Everyone is either gone or is trying to leave but the wealthy who are isolated from the rest of the nation, living large. We all thought it was possible, but no one thought it would actually happen. We didn’t think this country would run itself so far into the ground that it is beyond recovery. No one thought he could do this. Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The day it all started, the day he came to power. Everyone was either watching it happen live or asleep in their beds. Once morning came it was official, he became our president.

Scoliosis is a common spinal disease that can occur both in children and adults alike. It involves a curved deformity in the spine. When you look at someone from front to back, their spine must look like straight. A person suffering from scoliosis will have deviated vertebrae that form a C or S shape curve.

Scoliosis is a complex deformity or curvature of the spine and entire torso and has been recognized clinically for centuries (Asher, Marc A.). “For a few of the patients an underlying cause can be determined, including congenital changes, secondary changes related to neuropathic or myopathic conditions, or later in life from degenerative spondylosis. However, the cause of most scoliosis is not known and since about 1922 such patients have been diagnosed as having idiopathic scoliosis (Asher, Marc A.).”

Scars are permanent. They are more than just a blemish on your skin, but a story that stays with you forever. However, I am no foreigner to scars. I have about three on each knee caused by painful impacts with the soccer field and pavement. Though, one scar, located on the lower right side of my belly, tells a story like no other.

Scoliosis is the abnormal curvature of the spine. Most cases of Scoliosis are diagnosed with no specific origin, but some cases are also proven to be neuromuscular or growth deformities. Heredity and genes also play a big role in the possibility of having Scoliosis. Some signs that you could see are uneven muscle growth on each side of the spine, a rotation of the rib cage, and uneven hips or arm and leg length. If not treated when discovered, your spine could actually start to put pressure on your lungs and heart. There is no cure for having Scoliosis, but you can manage it so the effects aren’t as serious. As a child you have more options to correct the growth of your spine such as using braces or doing surgery. As an adult not

I've been receiving a lot of heat for my tattoo from strangers who often don't know what it means to me, why I got it in the first place, or what it's supposed to resemble.

Scoliosis occurs in 3% of people. It’s most common only occurs between the age of 10 and 20. Living with Scoliosis can cause change in posture and the symmetry and appearance of your back? Having major lower back pain, can’t stand for long periods of time , the distance between one arm and the torso is greater than the other one, your rib or shoulder blade might stick out more on one side than the other . Also including impairment in lung function, pain in neck, trouble sleeping and muscle tension. With females they may have irregular menstrual cycles, and problems with digestion and proper bowel function. Sometimes Scoliosis is not treated surgery or a back brace is needed. Self-Care treatment is physical exercise, Surgery bone and grafting and spinal fusion, Therapies stretching and Devices a back

I have a scar on my right wrist on the inside of my arm. I got it a couple summers ago in New Hampshire. It was mid-july and we had gone up for the weekend. Me and my cousin and mom kayaked across the lake. There’s a path in the woods that leads to an old bridge. My tied our kayaks to a tree and started walking down the path. We were talking and laughing and the sun was hot and the birds were chirping. We got to the bridge and took the sandwiches out of my bag and sat down in the grass to eat lunch. We talked for a while then we decided to head back to the kayaks.