Initially, I would have described this amazingly transformative bodywork experience as “a whole lotta nothing”. The movements are simple and easy, and I could not have imagined they would have such a powerful effect on this scoliosis-riddled body (the dictionary meaning of riddled… adjective: filled with, and often thoroughly weakened by, something undesirable)…
Read MoreAfter your surgery did the rods feel like they provided support and relieve the muscle tension that we all experience from our spines holding on to the curve - was there a sense of support? I’m imagining that the muscle pain related to supporting the curve will diminish with the structure's support! What is everyone’s experience?
Read MoreCan you get your scoliosis fusion hardware removed?
The quick answer is YES, but depending on the type of hardware and length of time it has been attached to your spine, some removals are much easier than others.
Bringing the element of writing into the workshop enabled us to think about fusions metaphorically: how, for instance, do we integrate mind and body in a way that feels holistic? When writing our own stories, how do we incorporate memory in a way that fuses what we remember with what we can no longer recall? Participants wrote their own stories using workshop prompts and shared these stories with each other.
Read MoreAs soon as I started reading Patricia Horvath’s book, All the Difference, I could not put it down. It almost felt like I was reading my own scoliosis story! Another teenage girl, just like I was, reminiscing about her own version of the same, tortuous, early version of the Harrington Rod surgery I had to go through. I could hardly believe it!
It was both wonderful and startling to read her words and realize they could have been mine. Of course many details were different...
Starting yoga and a key discovery: Elise Browning Miller’s Yoga for Scoliosis
When my back finally started to feel stronger and more mobile, I found myself dreaming about dancing. In that moment between sleep and awake, I would have visions of myself in an extreme arabesque with my an open chest, arched back, and a long, high leg. Sometimes it was à Ia seconde - with my leg lifted to the side. I was never wearing a tutu. I was always either in street clothes or naked. I could feel my spine - free and powerful.
Taking the leap into Emotional Counselling
Shortly after my Harrington rods were removed, I was talking to a friend about my rehabilitation regime combination of massage and gym training. As a dancer himself, he recognized the obvious benefits of these activities, but he also suggested I consider doing some emotional counselling to support my physical healing.
Read MoreMy journey - and discoveries - in Supportive Care
The results of my intense massage routine and gym training slowly gave me confidence to try new things in the search for more mobility and pain relief. I thought that by having my Harrington rods removed, everything would be better, immediately. But, as it turned out, I encountered a whole new set of challenges...
Read MoreHarrington rod surgery then (1974) and now
Before I go further in this serial blog post about my journey through Harrington rod removal surgery, the long term effects, and the after care and supportive treatments I discovered, I would like to reiterate to all readers that every person’s surgery experience is unique.
Read MoreFinding a surgeon; proceeding with rod removal.
It was not easy convincing the new surgeon to remove my Harrington rods. He was unsympathetic to most of my initial reasoning — that I didn’t “like” the foreign object in my body; that the rods “felt weird”, and like they were “vibrating”.
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