Scoliosis: Life, Support & Friends

Many teenagers will probably recognize Shailene Woodley. She plays Hazel Grace in "The Fault in our Stars" and Tris Prior in "Divergent". But did you know that she also suffers from Scoliosis? Shailene Woodley was diagnosed with Scoliosis when she was 15 years old. She had to also wear a back brace,18 hours a day for two years. When doing an interview for Marie Claire, Woodley said "Some people have crooked teeth, some people have broken fingers; and I've got a back that has my initial on it". Such an inspiration to us twisties, eh?  There are many more celebrities that have scoliosis; whether they've had bracing, or whether they've had the surgery. But I will be posting more celebrities, possibly once a week! I find that many of their stories are such an inspiration, and it shows that you can still go out there and do what you want even with Scoliosis!  If you want to read more about Shailene Woodley's Scoliosis then here's a lin...

I thought for my first blog I'd introduce myself and tell you a bit about my Scoliosis journey. So, my name's Kat and I'm currently 16 years old. I was diagnosed with Scoliosis in 2009 after a holiday to Florida where my Dad noticed my ribs were sticking out. My first appointment with my surgeon was 2 months later, where I was told I'd have to have surgery as my curve was already at 44 degrees and was too late for bracing. When I had surgery in January 2010, my curve had increased to 53 degrees. My surgery took 6 hours and I came out with an almost fully straight spine (3 degrees). My recovery was quite a speedy one, so when I finally went back to school I only missed an hour of it as I went home early. From having the surgery, I can tell you that having the surgery is really worth it! The pain decreases a lot after surgery. You may get a few bad days, but nowhere near as many bad days as you had before surgery. There are so many reasons why having the surgery is wo...