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.
Read MoreIt wasn’t until age 16, when the necessity of spinal fusion surgery became imminent, that I fully grasped how my scoliosis could forever alter my relationship to movement. The memory of the car ride home from my final pre-surgery appointment replays vividly. I couldn’t utter a word. My mom, in tears behind the wheel, begged me to say something, but all I could think about was how I would break the news to my ballet teacher.
Read MoreThe year was 1982. Outside at lunch one day, a kid looked over at me and asked, “Why does your back stick out more on one side than the other?” I was 12 years old, in Grade 7.
I don’t remember what I said, but of course at that age I went running home to tell Mom and she took me to our Family Doctor.
I've tried yoga, pilates, and gyrotonics.
I have explored massage, acupuncture, and physiotherapy.
I learned meditation, breathing techniques, and energy medicine.
Every approach has value, but I have learned with my fussy fused spine—and the accompanying pain, stiffness, and spasms—that not everything works all the time.
Even in the most successful scoliosis correction surgeries, the surgery does not mean that the scoliosis is gone. Considering there is no known cause for scoliosis means that the correction does not solve the underlying root of the condition, as it is not understood!
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