Scoliosis Chronicles: Part 2

Things have been a bit tough around here, and when that happens I don't much feel like writing. I'm back now, though, with the promised second installment :)

Alright, so I ended up going to the orthopedic surgeon where they did these really awesome, full torso x-rays. Have you ever seen an x-ray of your whole torso? Because I have, several times in fact. I wish I had one to post on here, but, alas, it is not to be :). Using the x-rays they could see my curve and gauge how severe it was. Not only was my curve a double (one at the top and one at the bottom so my spine somewhat resembled an "S") which was uncommon, but my curve started to the left (really, like an "S"). Something like 95% of all scoliosis curves start to the right which is pretty bizarre, if you think about it. How can an anomaly have such a pronounced trend? Anyway, apparently this was some cause for concern; sometimes left curves are caused by some other abnormality such as a cyst. So I had an MRI. Yes, I had my first MRI when I was twelve years old. Well, much to my dismay, there was no cyst; I really just defied "normal" in every way.

There are different types of treatment for scoliosis depending on the severity of the curve. Some people have slight curves and never have to do anything for them except a little posture correction. Moderate curves are corrected using a back brace and severe curves are corrected using Harrington rods. The rods are placed on the sides of the spine through surgery, and are the most effective correction, but may limit movement and activities. A brace is almost always tried before surgery. My curve was moderate and increasing so it was decided that a back brace was necessary. Again, I don't have a picture of MY brace, but here's a generic one so you can get the idea. This one is pretty similar to the one I wore.

Yeah, it's awesome... not.

According to howstuffworks.com:

The brace works by exerting pressure on the back and ribs to push the spine in a straighter position. The brace usually fits snugly around the torso and can come in many styles. In a child who is still growing, bracing is usually recommended to help slow the progression of the curve. The brace is usually worn full-time until the growth of the bones has stopped.

I was to wear it 18-20 hours a day, every day, until my "growth plates closed" whatever that means.

TWO YEARS!!!! Two years is what it meant. Two years of wearing this beast. It was the bane of my existence. As if middle school isn't traumatic enough, what with identity crises, trying to fit in, etc. I had to add a stupid back brace on top of it all. Luckily, I'm pretty resilient and didn't care so much about what people thought of me. In fact, most of the time, people didn't even know I was wearing a brace; it was only the girls that I had gym with, who saw me change, that knew. Well, and my friends, of course. I look back on it and think "oh, it wasn't so bad." But you could never ever get me to do it again.

I had two braces. The first was small, because I was small, and had a print of elephants, giraffes and hippos on it. It was cute. The second was bigger and clear. A new type of plastic had been developed and it was, supposedly, softer, but couldn't have anything printed on it. Not cute.

I think the most interesting part of the experience was the making of the brace. They laid me down on this table that was made of plastic with a bunch of holes drilled in it. Each hole was about 1/2 inch in diameter; the purpose of the holes, as I was quick to learn, was for rods that would hold my spine in a straighter position while they made a cast of my body. I put on a tube-sock-esque thing that covered me from arm-pits to mid-thighs. They, almost literally, paper mache'd me, though I'm pretty sure the goop was not flour and water, and the strips were cloth, not news paper. This happened on the front and the back using, in total, two tube-socks and about 2 hours. I remember it being fun, though we all know memories can be a bit skewed :).

Anyway, that's the brace. Now you know a bunch of, probably, useless things about treatment of scoliosis through a back brace.

Next: Part 3: After the brace (I really don't know what else to call it, hahaha)

Scoliosis Chronicles: Part 1

So I know this story pretty well, but I’d thought I’d share it for those who don’t know. Or for those who do, it’s fun to see things from a different perspective.

In sixth grade my whole class was screened for scoliosis. Scoliosis is curvature of the spine, may or may not be inherited, and can range in severity. We had been screened for other things in the past, like bad eyesight; I’m not sure if the school just thought our parents weren’t responsible or what, but they had decided to take it upon themselves to determine the various maladies of elementary school students. I had heard of scoliosis because one of the kids in my class had it. Also, the teachers had explained it to us so that we wouldn’t think they were crazy for looking at our backs. Anyway, we were all rounded up and herded into the auditorium.

My teacher told us that this was just to make sure that everyone in the school was ok and that, most likely, nothing would be wrong with us. I’m sure this was said because of the fairly low occurrence of scoliosis in the United States, about 4%. It didn’t even occur to me to think that I could possibly have a curved spine. I would feel that, right?

The screeners were just doing cursory checks on most people: make sure shoulders and hips were even and check for visible curves. If there was a question about a certain child, they would go see the Head Screener, a fairly intimidating woman who, I guess, had the final say.

Finally, it was my turn. Like I said, it hadn’t even crossed my mind that I would have anything less than a straight spine. The screener did his initial scan, checking my shoulders and hips, etc. It didn’t seem like my screening was any different than anyone else’s, but it slowly dawned on me that he was taking a long time. He had already checked my shoulders twice! And now he was doing it again! I started to get worried. I don’t remember what he said to me, but I was taken over to the Head Screener.

Words were exchanged between the two screeners and the woman made me bend over so she could check my spine. She said “Oh yeah, there’s a definite curve.” She ended up making a lesson out of me for the other screener, showing him how it was easy to tell that I had a curved spine from this and this and this. And while I’m sure he appreciated it, I certainly did not. My world had just been turned upside down! I had scoliosis?? How could this be? They were being so insensitive to my little 12 year old self.

I ended up going to see a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, because I guess they deal with this kind of stuff. But not before my mom had had a friend look at my back at my sister’s indoor soccer game, how embarrassing J.

Well, that’s the diagnosis. Tomorrow I’ll share what came after: the brace!!