05/10/2023
We are less than a month to National Scoliosis Awareness Month (yay!) and I’ve decided to share a little bit more about my spine and the importance of having your “village”. 💚
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We started monitoring my curve in 2018, when my spine measured a 52.1 degree curve. In March of 2019, we officially hit the red alert. Between October of 2018 and March of 2019, my spine was at a 56.3 degree curve. Almost a 5 degree change in just a few months. We decided on March 4th as a family to move forward with a Spinal fusion.
At this time, I (including my family) weren’t as aware of the amazing community behind every scoli-warrior. Personally, I wasn’t sure of all the resources available to me. Before I left school for surgery, I made a pact with an old teacher of mine, who was a coach for my high schools cross country team. If I could recover and slightly run, they’d let me run with the team in Disney. Little did I know, a bunch of class mates I either never met or rarely spoke too, would become my biggest push towards recovery. Girls I never met before I started running, became my “roommates” on a little trip. Coaches I’ve taken classes from became mentors. Teammates who let me join their team, knowing this was so new to me, had my back.
When they say, ”it takes a village”, they mean it. During a 5 month recovery period, everyone involved with this sport in my highschool became my tribe. They watched me give out and give up but they also watched me succeed. I can confidently say over 3 years (almost 4) later I’m not sure how I would’ve gotten through recovery. There were dark nights, that were met with bright mornings… but it’s a lot to sort through. Both physically and mentally. At the end of one of our race days, my back gave up on me, the pressure of a new spine got the best of me. I didn’t finish the run that day, and boy… I was disappointed. Before packing up, one of my teammates who was half out of breath, told me one little thing I stuck with me almost 4 years later. “You’re a fighter, nothing less”.
Something every scoli-warrior can relate to. We are fighting for a better life; free of back pain, negative self reflections, fighting for self love and normalcy.
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So as we go through the rest of May, gearing up towards June, there’s one thing I have to say to everyone that is on this journey: You’re a fighter and nothing less.