I was born with a severe and rare form of scoliosis. Throughout my life, I was told I would need surgery to fix it. However due to my many other medical problems, no surgeon wanted to touch me. So, finding someone who would help me was a very long and tiring process. It felt like a useless endeavor.
When I was in 9th grade, I went to the orthopedist for a checkup on my scoliosis and they told me I would need surgery now. They sent me to get an MRI. They made a 3D model of my spine to see how to go about fixing it. I was told they couldn't do it and to look for other options.
With no guidance at all, my parents and I set out to find a new and better surgeon. We went to the Hospital for Special Surgery. The surgeon we met with said that the risks would not outweigh the benefits and he did not think I needed the surgery yet. We continued to go to him for a couple of years as my curve continued to get progressively worse. For a short time, the curve stayed the same, so he told me to go enjoy college and come back when I graduated.
Fast forward a couple years and my back was causing me extreme pain whenever I was slightly active. It was one reason I chose to study college online. The commute was painful, and sitting in the chairs at college often became excruciating. I tried to schedule an appointment at the Hospital for Special Surgery, but they told me it had been too long since I had been there last. You were the ones who told me to come back in a few years. What the hell do you mean it has been too long? So, we once again looked elsewhere.
However, at this point COVID hit, so we were in lockdown. I was still in pain, but it was not as bad because I was not doing much. We didn’t want to risk me getting sick because of all my other medical complications, so we waited to seek help until Covid had cleared up and I had been vaccinated. At this point, I just went to a pain doctor called a physiatrist to help manage my pain. They gave me trigger point injections, which actually helped for the first time ever. He also connected me with a very skilled surgeon who he believed would help me. After wanting to give up after so much defeat and pushing forward, looking for a solution, my determination had finally been seeming to pay off. I was also given medical marijuana, which was the biggest help in reducing my pain out of anything I had tried before. I was amazed as we are conditioned to view marijuana with such a negative light throughout our lives, yet it has been one of the most positive revelations of my life.
I went to see the new surgeon who said he could do it. I was so happy to hear those words, yet I was still skeptical because this had happened before. However, he seemed so knowledgeable, and he had a unique plan of attack that reduced the risks of the surgery. Let’s just say I went through a lot of testing over the next few months and my surgery had gotten a date. This was finally going to happen! Or was it?
Two weeks before my surgery I was required to get a COVID test before going into surgery. It came back positive. They delayed my surgery another month! I was defeated once again. My stress levels were at an all-time high. I was worried about this surgery because of how many people told me they would not do it. No matter what I said, I was worried. I was using medical marijuana for stress, anxiety, and pain. I focused on gaming to avoid negative thoughts and enjoy myself before my upcoming surgery, Which I knew would be brutal. We will get into that in my next post.
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