Scoliosis: Life, Support & Friends

The Daily Mail report about a 14 year old girl, Megan Parker, 14, who was diagnosed with hemi-vertebrae and curvature of the spine at just six weeks old and had to have over 40 operations to correct her twisted back!!!! She was forced to permanently wear a specially-made body shell to correct her posture and keep her neck upright. Every time she grew medics were forced to open up her back again to stretch the titanium rods screwed into her to keep her spine straight. But after a lifetime spent in her shell she has finally broken free after racing to recovery - and has even taken up go-karting. Nowadays Meg, who wants to be a singer, can be spotted zooming around her local track - a far cry from the pace suggested by her old nickname. Megan, who lives in Colchester with full-time mum Tina, 39, and specialist car mechanic dad Robert, 43, said being without the cast had totally changed her life. She said: 'There is so much that I want to do now, but I have to take things steady becaus...

I'm still counting down - 75 days left. Things to look forward to after surgery, other than pain relief: 1. Having a bra that fits properly. 2. Wearing any pair of shoes I want, without having to get an expensive lift put on. 3. Not having my legs fall asleep all the time (hopefully). 4. Sleeping better! 5. No more limping! 6. No backaches from doing the laundry or dishes, showering, or anything else that requires standing for long periods. 7. Better posture. Things to dread: 1. The insane medical bills. 2. Changes in my ability to bathe, dress, and move. Other than the money ($50,000 and up), everything else I can deal with. At least, I think so. I'm currently fused from T10-L3. It's going to be revised and continued, from T4-S1. Does anyone out there have a fusion this complex? I really want to know what it's like to be fused this much, so I know what to expect. Comment me here or hit me up on Twitter, @oddcupcake.

Scoliosis Journal reports about adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) which is treated with arthrodesis and posterior titanium instrumentation: 8 to 12 years follow up without late infection Authors: Franz J Mueller and Herbert Gluch email Published: 12 August 2009 Background There are no data in the peer-reviewed literature regarding long term results in patients treated for AIS with a posterior titanium instrumentation. Therefore we assessed the outcome in 50 patients treated by titanium implant. Methods A total of 50 patients with a mean age of 16.6 years were treated. In all patients, titanium hooks and pedicle screws were used in combination. The demographic data and the pre- and post-operative radiographs of all 50 patients were re-examined, and 49 of the 50 patients (98%) attended a radiological and clinical follow up-examination on average 10.1 years post-operatively. The clinical results were recorded by means of the SRS 24 questionnaire. Results In the frontal plane, the me...

Shriners Hospital for Children has been operating on and supporting children with Scoliosis for many years and not just from a surgical point of view, financial as well. A Little About Shriners Shriners Hospitals for Children is a one-of-a-kind international health care system dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing specialty pediatric care, innovative research and outstanding teaching programs.Children up to the age of 18 with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries and cleft lip and palate are eligible for admission and receive all care in a family-centered environment at no financial obligation to patients or families. Over the past 30 years Shriners has been treating Cypriot children with Scoliosis, free of charge. Just recently Shriners has met with the health minister seeking financial support to help operate on Cypriot children, due to the current economic climate, Shriners can no longer afford to operate on these children due to the cost of the sur...

Scoliosis & Exercises Interview I was approached by Rick Kaselj in June time of this year, he wanted to interview me regarding the subject of Scoliosis, how I manage, what exercises I do, what advice I would give to exercise experts that are designing work outs for people with Scoliosis. You may listen to the interview by clicking the link "Scoliosis & Exercises Interview" embedded within this post (this is an mp3 and should play in your browser). I have never been interviewed before and I was very nervous but anything to help people with Scoliosis is good with me, I am happy to share my thoughts and feelings when it comes to Scoliosis and life. I have to say I do not like the sound of my voice on the MP3 but I don't think I am alone with not liking the sound of your own voice! I will let you decide if I sound OK or not ;) Some information about Rick and his profession are listed below I would like to thank Rick for the experience and also to thank him for being p...

I am now 3 days into taking my new treatment and while I have not noticed any significant changes in my body I think it is too early to tell, I was told I may need a double dose to get me started so we will wait and see. It would appear I am going to have a run of bad luck with the old Twisted Spine! My go faster stripes are not working and I am slowing down. I am having considerable amounts of pain in my lumbar, right where my donor site scar is, I cannot relax without feeling HUGE pressure on the scar, which is very painful and makes me catch my breath. I even had problems on the toilet this morning and that just gets me frustrated, the simplest of actions that any normal person takes for granted is such an effort for me this week and I end up getting really pissed off!!!!!!! I had to drive my Mother to the airport earlier because Chris is up to his eyes with work so he needed to stay home and finish his "to do list", I have to say it was the most painful drive of my life, ...

Our bodies need small amounts of essential nutrients in order to work properly. Before I continue with the reason why I started this blog I wanted to explain the types of vitamins and minerals. Fat Soluble and Water Soluble Vitamins: Fat Soluble Vitamins Fatty foods that contain fat soluble vitamins are: Butter Lard Vegetable Oils Dairy Foods Liver Oily Fish Animal Fats Vitamin A Vitamin D Vitamin E Vitamin K Our bodies need these vitamins daily to function properly. However, you don't need to eat foods containing them every day. Our bodies store vitamins in our liver and fatty tissues for future use. If you have more fat soluble vitamins than required, this would be harmful. Water Soluble Vitamins These vitamins are not stored in our bodies so we need them more frequently. Our bodies do not store water soluble vitamins we get rid of them when we urinate. These vitamins are not harmful. Water Soluble Vitamins Fruit Vegetables Grains Vitamin B6 Vitamin B12 Vitamin C Biotin Folic Aci...