Our thirteenth TOPS 'Back Stories’ guest blog feature writer is Gail Rossi. In this deeply personal piece, Gail reflects on a lifetime shaped by severe scoliosis—from childhood pain and a major fusion surgery at 30, to multiple revision surgeries later in life that brought complications, setbacks, and hard-earned resilience. Now 70, she lives with significant physical challenges but remains determined, hopeful, and focused on helping others. Her mission today is to support Nasser, a young man in Morocco with a critical case of scoliosis who urgently needs surgery he cannot afford. Through sharing her story, she hopes to inspire compassion and rally support for his healing.

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Becoming Aware of My Back Issues

I first became aware of my back issues when I was 11 years old.

I could see that one of my shoulder blades stuck out, and I began having a deep, burning ache when I practiced piano or typed a document; basically, when I did anything with my arms elevated in front of me. When I told my mother, she said, “Nonsense, just sit up straight. It’s your posture.”

Unfortunately, this continued throughout my teenage years, and it made me too self-conscious to wear a bathing suit. This was extremely sad, because previously, I had been involved in swim meets and diving competitions at a local club. My teenage years were a disaster. Finally, at the age of 19, I took myself to an orthopedic doctor who showed me my xray for the first time and, indeed, it showed an S-curve from scoliosis.

Fusion Surgery at 30

*Gail on horseback in Sakkara, Egypt, a couple of years after her first spine surgery in the early 1980s.*

Fast forward 10 years, and I revisited an orthopaedic surgeon (thankfully my husband was supportive) who indicated the curve had advanced significantly, and was now 47° at the top and 18° at the bottom of my spine. I scheduled surgery, which was performed two weeks prior to my 30th birthday. I knew it would be a year-long recovery, but I was more than ready. However, there was a complication. Something called a ‘paralytic ileus’ occurred, causing my stomach to shut down, and violent vomiting. I required a tube to take nourishment and it was beyond uncomfortable; I also had terrible hallucinations from the morphine. But I survived it all and two weeks later I left the hospital for home, 20 lbs lighter.

Cosmetically, there was little, if any, improvement, but the excruciating pain was gone, and has not returned since. That in itself made the ordeal worthwhile. I had a rough year, but eventually resumed a normal life, including high-impact aerobic dance classes two times a week. I danced, traveled, rode horses and hiked, and for the next 38 years barely thought about my back, in spite of a lot of numbness from all the nerves that had been cut, and some pain when I became fatigued.

Revision Surgery

Then one day, I noticed I was having difficulty walking, which worsened rather quickly, and my neck was tilting at an odd angle. Again, time for an orthopaedic specialist, who indicated the only correction to the problem—which he referred to as ASD, or Adjacent Segment Disease, a common occurrence as people with early Harrington Rod and fusion surgeries age—would be more surgery. It took a lot of contemplation and sleepless nights, but I started interviewing surgeons, and learned my case was severe enough to warrant having the surgery performed in a larger city with more modern facilities and experienced staff. I went to have the surgery in San Diego where I’d spent 13 years and had great friends to support me.

An Accident, More Surgeries and Sepsis

During the revision procedure, they removed most of the old hardware and replaced it with new hardware, but sadly, it didn’t hold, and my spine started trying to revert to its former curved position. A couple of vertebrae even broke and, as luck would have it, a car rear-ended my husband and I on the freeway. The impact of the accident broke through the bone ‘fusion’ that was barely starting to solidify after the surgery, so I had to go back to California again for an emergency repeat of the revision surgery, this time using cement to hold it all in place. Then it was another two weeks in the hospital, a week in a rehab facility, and then I developed an unfortunate bout of sepsis that nearly killed me! That led to three ‘washout surgeries’ to flush out the sepsis over the next week.

Then, believe it or not, I had to have one more revision surgery! This time was to replace all the newly inserted biologic material that had to be removed due to the severe infection (bone graft, etc.). A specialty plastic surgery team was called in as well and I was informed they may have to use pig skin to create flaps if there wasn't enough tissue of my own (I joked that at least my friends would be able to play football with me!). Fortunately, there was enough.

This time, they fused one more vertebrae higher than before—all the way to C2—which restricted movement of my neck even more. And the incision (nearly 20") was stitched closed yet again.

Two drains were inserted, which is standard when draining the body of severe infection. Those remained in for 6 weeks while I stayed in a nursing home where they administered antibiotics every 8 hours via IV.

During this time, the drain tubes pulled painfully on my sides and had to be pinned to my clothing, as well as being emptied regularly. Even after everything else I went through, a truly memorable ‘tough’ part was when the drains were removed with two quick pulls. It was excruciating, and it was all quite a nightmare, but again, one which I thankfully awakened from.

Living My Life

Four years have passed since the first revision surgery. I am now 70 years old and traveled to Italy for a month last year. It was very challenging to navigate the uneven cobblestones and climb endless ancient staircases, but it was worth it to have the chance to again visit a place that I love.

I live my life, but struggle to walk with a cane, soon to graduate to a rollator walker. Showering, dressing, etc., and even getting in and out and rolling over in bed, are time-consuming and painful, but I do it and try to maintain an upbeat attitude. I do physiotherapy on and off, and emotional therapy helps, as I can have my brief pity parties and feel heard. Over the past several years, I have participated in many scoliosis support groups, including the monthly Fusion Support Group that TOPS offers.

Overall, I’m still here and I’m OK.

Aging is hard for everyone, but aging with the impact of all these surgeries I have survived is harder still. My shoulders and arms are weak and palsied, but still, I go on and try not to give in to depression and feeling sorry for myself. My joys are my husband and kitties, a pleasant house on one floor, and wonderful friends and memories that keep me going.

I am still alive, after all.

Life Goals - Helping Others

Currently, what really gets me up every day and gives me a reason to go on is my desire to make a difference in the lives of others with this dreadful condition. I wrote a book, available on Amazon, called ‘Tilted Temple, My Life with Scoliosis’ with the idea of sharing my story in case it may be able to help someone else who is going through the same thing.

Meeting Nasser

And now, my new goal is to help my dear scoliosis friend Nasser, a 25-year-old man in Morocco who desperately needs surgery. It was during my recovery time that I came across Nasser’s story on social media with one of the worst cases of scoliosis that I had ever seen. He had posted a heart-wrenching story about his emotional state (nearly suicidal), his inability to breathe or walk normally, and a picture of his poor, crooked back. I cried. I contacted him and we started talking and have been close ever since. I call him my little brother and he calls me his big sister!

Nasser lives in a small town in Morocco, where there is nobody qualified to help him with his scoliosis. Recently, he has been communicating with an acclaimed spine surgeon in Cairo, Egypt, who has agreed that he can help, but the price tag of the surgery is far too expensive for Nasser (approximately 20,000 Euros - $23,000 USD or $32,540 CAD).

I have no idea how I am going to do it, but I’ve made it my life’s mission to raise the money and somehow help Nasser get the surgery he so desperately needs and wants. In July 2025, I started a GoFundMe fundraiser, but we only raised $270! This was disappointing, but all the donors agreed to send it to him so he could buy something for his comfort, such as a mattress topper or pillow. He needed eye surgery as well, so everything helped.

I have spent a lot of time looking for more support by contacting every international medical charity organization I can think of, such as Doctors Without Borders, Mercy Ships, and myriad others. Unfortunately, none of them are able to help. Many just kind of dismissed me, while some wished me well without offering any assistance, and others informed me that Nasser is not eligible for their aid due to him being over 18, or not in the right situation to receive help (like in a natural disaster, for example). It’s very frustrating, but I am now wondering if maybe the scoliosis community can help?

TOPS has over 1,000 readers. If each one donated just $20 dollars, then we would have enough money to help Nasser. Can you imagine how good that would feel??

I am hopeful that if you are reading this now, you might be motivated to do something to assist Nasser by contributing to our campaign. I promise, you will never meet a more grateful, kind individual, nor one more in need and deserving of help.

Let’s do this!!

Please see some photos and read some words from Nasser below to learn more about his journey so far.

Donations for Nasser are gratefully accepted here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-nassers-lifechanging-surgery

*Whether you donate directly via GoFundMe for Nasser or you donated to Giving Back Kindness Foundation recently for ‘Giving Tuesday’, thank you - funds will get to Nasser!

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Information from Nasser - In His Own Words:

NASSER’S FAMILY

TOP: Nasser (right) with his uncles
MIDDLE: Nasser’s mother and niece
BOTTOM: Nasser’s little brother

About My Scoliosis:

I'm currently 25 years old, and I've been suffering from scoliosis for over ten years. It gets worse year after year. In 2023, when I had an MRI of my back, the curvature was 90 degrees. The pain increases year after year, but now things have gotten much worse. I have breathing problems, sleep problems, and I also have epilepsy. My legs are bowed at the knees, and my hip bones rub against each other which causes pain. My rib cage is tilted, putting pressure on internal organs like my heart and stomach, in particular... in addition to other problems. On top of that, I have deep psychological problems caused by society's hurtful words, which keep me up all night thinking. This is due to their ignorance and lack of awareness.

My Life:

I live in a small city in Northern Morocco called Ouezzane. We are five in my family: mum, dad, bro, sis, and me (I love them), but we are not living in the same house. My sis is married, and my brother is training for a job, so now I'm living with daddy and mum only.

As for my daily life, I've been preparing for a government job application exam (November 22) in addition to reading some books. I obtained my bachelor's degree two years ago and haven't received a government job yet. I hope I'll get one this year; perhaps it will help with my health problems.

Surgery Plan and Approximate Cost:

Regarding the surgery, I truly hope there will be donations, even though the cost is very high. If I have enough money, I will have it done in Cairo, Egypt by Dr. Hani Abdel Gawad. You can visit his page here. I previously spoke with him on Facebook and after sending him my medical file, he said that the surgery could cost around 20,000 euros or more, but to determine the exact cost, I need to visit his clinic in Egypt. I will visit him as soon as I get a job.

Gratitude:

That's all about me, dearest Gail. I'm really grateful and thankful to you. You'll be on my mind for my whole life, cuz my family didn't do that with me, while you did.

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