When I was my 10 years old, I stepped on two scales - one under my left foot and one under my right. I noticed a significant difference in my weight between the two scales.  I heard the familiar “stand up straight” and tried to shift my balance, but to no avail.  It was this initial realization that I was unequally balanced that led to my first doctor’s visit and diagnosis of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.  This unfamiliar diagnosis and even more unfamiliar prognosis changed the trajectory of my life, and I am forever grateful for the path that it has led me on.  This is my scoliosis journey.

After the initial diagnosis, it was determined that I would need a brace to control my primary lumbar curve, or curve in the lower part of my spine.  I began treatment with a Boston brace for 16 hours each day starting in the summer before 7th grade.  Despite not having a monitor in my brace, I faithfully wore my brace every day, keeping track with the hours on my own and needing little to no guidance.  I was very self-motivated and considered the bracing time not as difficult physically, but as an exercise in perseverance and emotional strength.  It was during this first year of bracing that I began to strongly feel that my time of wearing a brace was not going to be wasted, and that I could use my experience to help, encourage, and motivate others going through treatment for scoliosis.  I wanted to become an orthotist and design, build, and fit scoliosis braces for kids just like me.  It was that desire and motivation that helped me finish my bracing journey after almost 4 years, taking off my brace for the last time in the fall of 10th grade.  I thought I was finished with this chapter in my life, and I was able to do all the things that a normal high-schooler and young adult would want to do.  Finishing treatment with an almost 50-degree curve, however, left some questions about if the curve would remain stable or continue to progress throughout my adulthood.

I completed my training in Orthotics and Prosthetics and was fortunate to begin my career at the same hospital that initially treated me.  It was a full circle moment for me to be back in the place where my scoliosis journey began.  I am grateful for the time spent in the early years of my career and the patients that I will always remember for their own determination, strength, and perseverance.

After having my first child, I decided to take some time off from my career in orthotics to raise my family and spent the next several years tending to the needs of my growing family.  It was during my last pregnancy that I began to really feel physically unable to do the normal day-to-day tasks of taking care of young children.  What at first I attributed to normal pregnancy aches and pains, I began to remember that curve from my childhood.  After having my 3^rd child, I knew that I could no longer ignore the back pain and difficulties and went for my first x-ray in 10 years.  The almost 70-degree curve staring back at me, with a newborn in my hand, was something I could not ignore.

I knew that the curve always held a risk of progression, but the weight of a surgery diagnosis with three young children was difficult to grasp.  Through prayer, support from family and friends, and multiple surgeon consultations, it was determined that I would need surgery soon.  I underwent a posterior spinal fusion from T5 to L4 to permanently correct my scoliosis.

I have always loved gerbera daisies, but the big bold faces of those daisies often cannot be supported by their stems, needing a plastic tube or metal wiring to hold them up.  After the decision to move forward with surgery, it occurred to me that needing support does not diminish their strength, but by contrast makes them even stronger.  This mantra of external strength carried me through my decision and surgery and motivated me to be scoliosis strong.

Although the journey and recovery was not easy, I am grateful to be pain free, returning to all the activities that I enjoy.  I do not take for granted the amazing care I received from my surgeons, hospital team, and the support from my family and friends.  The rods in my back are reminders that sometimes you need external support in order to stand strong, and that is okay.

I returned to work as an orthotics and prosthetics clinician and began seeing patients with scoliosis - this time not only with my bracing experience but with my very recent surgery experience.  What a blessing to serve young children and adolescents and provide them the hope, encouragement, and support needed to persevere.  Wherever you are at in your scoliosis journey, I pray that you may find your external strength and together we can be scoliosis strong.