So today I thought I'd do a slightly different post on something that I haven't talked about on my blog before, it might not be to everyone's taste and I appreciate that but if it raises a tiny bit more awareness of Scoliosis then that can never be a bad thing.
When I was 12 I was diagnosed with a condition called Scoliosis, a curvature of the spine.
In my case I suffered a lot of pain and was awake most nights screaming in pain sometimes to the point where I'd have to go to hospital, I'd try to carry on as normally as possible by going to school and meeting up with friends but I became so drained with the codeine and diazepam I was taking for the pain it was clear that something had to be done.
At first I tried a back brace which although it wouldn't reduce the curve it would hopefully hold it in place, unfortunately, it didn't work, it made the pain worse and left red marks all over my back, I didn't find it beneficial and ended up quickly throwing it away.
After my parents looked on the internet we found that Sheffield Children's Hospital did a brace known as the Spinecor brace. This was a more modern version of the Boston Brace and we decided to go to Sheffield to see if it could help.
At Sheffield we found out that it was too late for the brace to be effective, I had an aggressive curve and although they could monitor it I would need surgery one day.
I had the surgery on August 4th 2010. In the build up to the surgery I didn't tell anyone how nervous I really was, I saw it as something I just had to get on and deal with. I wish now that I had talked more as it would have probably helped take some of the anxiety away.
The day after the surgery I suffered very rare complications which were described as one in a million. My lung collapsed, my blood pressure dropped, I caught Pneumonia and lost all movement and feeling in my arms and legs. My parents were told that if I survived I would never walk again.
It was a slow process but eventually I went on to make an almost full recovery, I learnt to walk again and I got my feeling back, I still have weak lungs and I have accepted that I always will but this is only a small consequence compared to what could have been.
Scoliosis can also make you very self conscious, it can cause your hips and shoulders to be uneven and your shoulder blade to stick out.
I personally missed a lot of school in year 8 due to my operation and have always struggled to fit back in to routine. I'm in Year 12 now and even now I suffer with anxiety, however, I don't think this is entirely due to my scoliosis.
I wanted to help other children going through a similar experience which is when I set up Scolio. Scolio sends gifts and grants wishes to children in the UK with serious conditions and illnesses, more information on this can be found at my Facebook page Help Jess help others or by adding Scolio Fundraise on Facebook.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, I hope that you now knkw a little bit more about Scoliosis. I'm sorry that this post is quite different to what I'd usually talk about but it is something that has hugely affected my life and shaped me as a person.
x~Jess~x
Twitter: @simplyjess97
Instagram: @heyitsjess97
