Scoliosis: Personal Narrative High School

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.

As puberty hit and my breasts grew, I was in constant pain from the chafing plastic. I had to visit the doctor every now and then to get my brace re-adjusted, it was embarrassing. Sleeping at night also presented its own set of challenges. If I lay on my side, the pressure pads would dig into my body, leaving bruises. If I lay on my back, the top of the brace would dig into my neck. If I lay on my stomach, the front of the brace would constrict and pinch my skin. I wore cotton tees under the brace that were soaked with sweat every morning. I felt so dirty. I often had appointments at the hospital throughout the year, normally my mother would tell me to “stop leaning in your chair and sit up straight.” It was an effect of having scoliosis. One shoulder was higher than the other because my ribs weren’t straight causing me to look pretty much

Everything hurt, It felt like a million knives were being stabbed into my back. It wasn't turning out to be a very good morning, and it was only going to get worse. It was also the day I would learn to re-walk again. Right here A lot of people have always question me when I say “learn to walk again” they just assume i’m saying it like that because I want the attention. The part they don’t understand was it really was learning how to re-walk again. I had a brand new back, and I didn't know how to use it yet. Everything was tight and it was hard to breath, so I wasn't even sure at one point I would be able to ever move again and be comfortable doing

Baseball sign-ups were ending that week, and that’s when I realized that, that moment would change the rest of my life. My mom asked me to sign the paper, but I denied it and announced that I wasn’t going to do baseball. After that came out of my mouth, mom was in shock because I loved the sport so much. Later in the day, I thought about it and was a little nervous because I was worried that I would want to go back to baseball. When I told all of my friends, they were surprised as well. A few days past on and some kids were picking on me, but it didn’t get to me because they will be watching me in the “Masters Championship” (the “Masters” is when the best of the best compete to see who the best golfer is that year).

In life you have to experience difficulties before you will ever experience success. I have always loved baseball. I started playing as a kid and continued into my high school years. During this time, I experienced frustration and eventually happiness came. Throughout this story I wasn’t focused on one moment, but all of the moments leading up to the signing for my college. The main experiences took place in many places, Chicago, Harrisburg, and West Frankfort. Playing baseball is a family event for me. My family supports me and is always there to cheer me on. These moments are so important to me is because I spent my entire life working to be signed by a college.

Surgery has given me back my life of constantly appreciating, yet looking for more, for something new. Intellectual curiosity, a love for nature, and a love for people, were not supported by a solitary life at home, in pain. Now, I chase all my passions and joys, and I feel excitement all the way. I dig deeply into history and anthropology, I discuss social issues in Spanish, and I draw free-body diagrams with zeal. I hug enthusiastically, grin at Snow and Opal (my biology teacher’s resident corn snakes), and my contact list has doubled. I am reminded every day of my success as a self-made

The surgery was the simple part; the challenge was the recovery. I couldn’t walk for two months, and I couldn’t participate in any physical activities involving my leg for six. I became dispirited, no longer able to

Doing this procedure relieved my brother's inability to relax his legs, but at the cost of being in extreme pain. The next few months were the hardest he would ever deal with. I can still envision coming home from school and hearing him scream in pain, this crushed me even at the tender age of ten. I may not of understood the severity of what was going on, but I knew that he had endured the worst of it and now was the good part, the part where he would be able to move more freely without agonizing pain. Dealing with these surgeries and the disease caused a ripple effect of how he had to be treated and taken care

I had an arch expander when I was in the 5th grade and beginning of 6th. Then, I had to wear a retainer at night for 7th and first couple months of the summer. Then, at the beginning of 8th grade, I got a permanent retainer. Then, I get BRACES. Braces! Cause everyone LOVES braces don’t they? Um……….Yeah, Sure. Also, cause braces Are the BEST THINGS IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE, that’s all. So I got the arch expander, wore the retainer at night, Is wearing the permanent retainer, and then I get braces.It was crazy! There are some people that have told me (for braces) that “THEY HURT FOR LIKE THE FIRST 2 WEEKS OF YOUR LIFE.” Then there are the people that are like, “Yeah, they hurt for like the first 2 days, but then it’s just the tightening that hurts.” So, I don’t know what it's going to be like. When I was getting my permanent retainer in, It hurt like someone was pushing up with a hammer it hurt so bad. They had to push it up really tight so it

All throughout high school I was involved in sports. I excelled in football and lacrosse throughout the four years I attended my high school. I had no problem going home studying football plays for hours and looking to make myself better for the next game or practice. I could recite defenses and offenses with no problem, but give me a math problem and it was as if it was in another language. Unlike my teachers I got along with my coaches well and they would be willing to help me get into a good school to further my playing skills. That is in reality only about twenty five percent of what you need to get into college. I lacked the other seventy five percent of doing at least average in academics and being a well rounded student. I had some schools contact me about playing lacrosse at their school but once they had heard I hadn’t taken the SAT’s yet and that my grades were a little above failing their interest level dropped. I believe that I potentially threw away some opportunities that could have really benefitted me today. Even if I would have payed attention the slightest bit I could have easily achieved B’s and C’s. I had my priorities mixed up and it really came back to bite me four years down the road.

Scoliosis is when the spine is curved. It is very common, but a lot of people are not aware of it. That’s why it’s important to know about the different types, for example, congenital, neuromuscular, degenerative and Idiopathic. It’s also important to know about the symptoms, treatments and statistics. Scoliosis is not a disease, it’s an abnormality that affects more girls than boys.

Both the age and maturity of the patient as well as the severity of the condition dictate the therapeutic treatment (4). Conservative treatments are often implicated during the beginning stages of skeletal maturity because there is an increased amount of bone remodeling and greater chance of successful halt of curve progression (4). Once a patient has reached skeletal maturity, conservative treatments are often ineffective and more invasive and radical therapies must be utilized (4). In conjunction with skeletal maturity assessment, Cobb angles are also used as an indicator of treatment options (1). Patients who are skeletally immature and have a Cobb angle of less than 20 degrees often are simply monitored and observed periodically (1). A spinal brace is indicated in growing adolescents when the curve is between 25 and 45 degrees (4). The goal of bracing is to arrest progression of the curve, therefore bracing is not effective in curves that are not likely to progress or when limited growth remains (1). Different types of braces are available. While the Milwaukee brace, which provides longitudinal traction between the skull and pelvis, was used quite often in the past, it has largely been replaced by the Boston brace (4). The Boston brace utilizes similar mechanics as the Milwaukee brace, but it has an increased acceptance rate of patients because it is less conspicuous and can be easily hidden under clothing (4). The Charleston bending brace is another alternative, but is typically only prescribed for nighttime wear and is best suited for single curves in the thoracolumbar or lumbar region of the spine (4). Although brace treatment is standard of care in most patients with scoliosis, its effectiveness varies in different patients. Patient compliance is the single most important factor when determining

Recently I had my braces taken off and I believed that it would not make a major difference upon my life. When the braces were taken off my teeth I had to start wearing a retainer which made it nearly impossible to talk. On the positive side however, I was able to have straight teeth.

Commitment--- something I needed in order to come out of this journey successful, something my doctor praised me for having every visit I made to her, something I am now very proud of carrying with me throughout such a battle. Without commitment, my Scoliosis would surely have progressed and my life would not be as it is today. Every day for four years I pushed myself to wear the brace no matter how painful and embarrassing it was. Although I was told by others that my efforts were likely to be a waste, I continued to encourage myself to prove them wrong and in the end I did. My dedication paid off and the curvature in my spine decreased and no longer progressed. I still remember the day when I visited my doctor and she told me the words I

There has been times of me falling behind in school because of my dedication to athletics. I did not continue to do athletics in college by choice. I had been through so much behind sports that I just wanted to be finally be a normal student. Sports have had such a major impact on my life. It has had some positive some negative. I love sports even to the point in which I am not still playing but I choose to pursue a career in this field.