A new week at back camp means a whole new set of patients. There are four of us returning from last week and four new kids this week, two high school girls and two six year old boys. Looking at the little boys I can't help but to wonder what would be different if that had been me.
Diagnosed with a 48 degree curve at nine, I probably had moderate scoliosis when I was younger, when I was six. What if I had it treated then instead of intense bracing as a pre-teen? Maybe I could have forgone the years of physical pain and embarrassment.
I had a Boston brace for three years that went from my armpit to halfway down one thigh. My brace gave me blisters and cuts, but those went away. It also gave me uneven curves and excess skin flaps that remain to this day. I was lucky when I wore my brace, I had a uniform for school everyday that covered up my bulky body. Unless you punched my stomach, you wouldn't even know it was there.
Bracing was a part of my scoliosis journey, and although it was sometimes a pain I wouldn't take it back. Wearing it for 23 hours a day taught nine year old me commitment and perseverance. My hour out would be for playing sports or playing outside and I learned to enjoy that time to the fullest. In all honesty, after the first couple months I didn't even mind. My brace became a part of me, any subsequent pain was just natural.
Our bodies adapt to our surroundings to optimize living conditions. My body has adapted to the scoliosis and had adapted to treatments before, I know this too will come in time. But as I stand balancing on an exercise disc on a vibrating plate with fifteen pounds weighted on my hips, I can't help but wonder, what if that six year old had been me?
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