Nuts and Bolts

30 September 2013

This is one of my favorite topics because it's one of the hardest things I've overcome. It took about a year to get back to "normal" and I still struggle with some things still today.

When I was thirteen, I noticed that I could slouch over more than a normal person and that my back seemed to hurt a lot. I told my mom and we went to the doctor, but the doctor told us there was nothing to worry about; it was normal. After a couple years, my posture progressively got worse. My back started aching when I was about fifteen, so I told my mom again and she brought me to a specialist. It turned out that I was diagnosed with Scheurermann’s Kyphosis, meaning that the vertebrae in my spine grew in the shape of a wedge and couldn’t keep my spine up. It resulted in a 78° curve in my spine when the normal curve is in the lower 50s range. I was referred to a specialist at Mayo hospital in Rochester, MN.

If you’ve never been to Mayo Hospital, you’re lucky. If you have, you know that it’s a huge hospital that people from all over the world come to. We had to go there 3 times. The first time we went down, my mom booked us a room at this very ghetto hotel, where we stayed each time. The floors were green, the beds smelled funny, and there were mirrors on three of the four walls. We ordered chinese food; it was the best (this became sort of a tradition between my mom and I. We’d stay in a ghetto hotel, eat chinese, and in the morning, go see the doctors). The day after, I had my appointment. My mom walked with me through the intricate tunnel system that is set up under the hospital. Once we got above ground, we were greeted by very beautiful marble floors, high ceilings, and blown glass chandeliers. After we checked in, we had to go to the pediatric floor. We met with the doctor and he told us our options: I could try physical therapy for a year or have an extensive surgery. We opted for the PT first and were sent back home.

After a year of intensive physical therapy and frequent visits to the chiropractor, my condition just got worse. We booked our second visit to Mayo. I finally made the decision to get surgery to fix it. “Fixing it” meant getting two titanium rods, 24 screws, and three hooks put into/around my spine. It wasn’t a light decision to make. The third visit there was the time I got surgery.

June 28, 2011 was the day my posture changed for the better. I was in the ICU for 3 days, and booked in the normal hospital for 4 for days. I was finally discharged on the 4th of July. It was a long road to recovery, about a year until I was fully healed. I had to learn to move different ways and adjust to airport security every time they pat me down.  Fast forward almost 2 ½ years, here I am. I’ve never felt better, and I don’t regret it at all. I’m glad I went through with it, because it improved my self-esteem and health.