Scoliosis: Life, Support & Friends

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...

This year's Move-athon will take place on the 29th October 2011, last year we blogged about this event and it was a great success, Sharon Terry (a member of our Facebook group ) is a great inspiration for all she does for people with disabilities and Scoliosis, so this year we are again promoting the Move-athon and showing her the support she deserves. Good luck guys and we look forward to hearing all about the event. Details of this are listed below. Join the Move-athon Saturday, October 29, for the Halloween Move-athon Benefiting Pediatric Orthopaedic Research NEW YORK, NY September 2, 2011 — On Saturday, October 29, New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Orthopaedic Division will be holding their 3rd Annual Move-athon benefitting Columbia University Pediatric Orthopaedic Research Group. All funds raised will support finding innovative and effective ways to help kids with musculoskeletal conditions, such as cerebral palsy, scoliosis, spina...

Hello my fellow Scoliotics (That's right, College has taught me it's all right to make up words as long as I sound confident while saying them. Next time you're out in public, look around menacingly and when questioned, say that you are currently henchmenning . Seriously, it's fun.) Lethbridge , Alberta is a flat, flat place, with a rather large gaping chasm in between my home and the College. That equates to an hour long bus ride every day to and from school. Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying my courses and have discovered a new found love for Forensic Psychology, however I do have a bone to pick with the establishment. Text books. Bad enough that I had to sell off a kidney and 1/3 of my liver just to afford the Human Development text book, but now I, with what I think we can all agree is a bit of a buggered spine, have to haul around five monster text books. Fortunately, not all at the same time, but that really doesn't make much of a difference as the e...

Scoliosis journal published research towards and understanding of the information and support needs of surgical adolescent and idiopathic scoliosis patients: a qualitative analysis Authors: R adha MacCulloch , Sandra Donaldson , David Nicholas , Joyce Nyhof-Young , Ross Hetherington , Doina Lupea and James G Wright Abstract (provisional) Background Informed decision making for adolescents and families considering surgery for scoliosis requires essential information, including expected outcomes with or without treatment and the associated risks and benefits of treatment. Ideally families should also receive support in response to their individual concerns. The aim of this study was to identify health-specific needs for online information and support for patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis who have had or anticipate having spinal surgery. Methods Focus group methodology was chosen as the primary method of data collection to encourage shared understandings, as well as permit...