2. When was your scoliosis first detected? June of 2000
3. What was your curvature then? 53 degrees
4. How was it detected? It was noticed initially by my family.
5. How did you feel when you found out you had scoliosis? A little scared, but not worried. I had never heard of it until then, so it was quite a suprise.
6. What treatment was used intially? From the diagnosis, the only prescribed treatment was surgery because of my situation and the extent of the curve.
7. Did you have a brace? No.
8. What was your curvature when the doctors suggested surgery? 53 degrees
9. When did the doctors suggest surgery? After the first visit to the orthopedic surgeon
10. How did you feel about needing the surgery? It was quite a shock and an intimidating experience. I cried about it when it finally hit me. I wasn't worried because I knew God had provided me with every form of support such as my awesome surgeon, family, friends, and church family.
11. What type of surgery did you have? Don't remember the correct terminology... something like thoracic spinal fusion with a hip bone graft
12. How many rods/instrumentation were used? Two titanium rods with assorted metal screws and junk.
13. Describe everything you remember from the day of surgery (from the time you arrived at the hospital to the time after surgery).
That would take forever... but my pre-op was very early in the morning. The IV hurt for a long time, but after a while, I didn't really notice it. I was wheeled into the OR and then I observed what I could from my horizontal position. There were nurses everywhere scurrying around the room, which was all white and steel. Something that struck me as funny was one in partiular that was standing in front of a huge counter with her back to me wading through all these instruments that didn't look too fun. She was making a lot of noise, and I was like great, so this is how they choose what to cut me with!! But, then the anesthesia guys, who were really funny, talked to me about the whole being put to sleep thing. Then they discussed how they were going to put some monitoring device on me because it belonged on my chest, and I was quite conscious. So yeah, they subtley decided to put that off until after I wouldn't remember anything. Thank God. I was covered in a very warm blanket. Then my surgeon and his nurse came in and were doing random things to prepare, I guess. The doctor was wearing this hilarious looking headset, microscope thingy that made his eyes look like a cartoon. Then they gave me some so-called pure oxygen, which I began to breathe in, and then I remembered no more. My first recollection after all thus was mainly sounds I could hear while being transported on my bed from one floor in the hospital to another. I opened my eyes briefly and saw my grandfather and boyfriend and could hear my dad talking. The next memories are in my accual recovery room at the hospital.
14. What was your curvature post-op? Around 11 degrees.
15. What was the date of your surgery? August 14th, 2000
16. At what hospital did you have it? Phoebe Putney Memorial
17. Who were your doctors? Dr. Edward Hellman
18. What pain medications did you have? Morphine, tylox (tylenol and codeine), plus phenigren, flexeril, and darvocet.
19. Did you loose weight? If so, how much. Yes, around ten pounds, but I eventually gained it all back.
20. Did you have any complications? If so, explain. Not with the actual procedure. The drugs tore my stomach and digestive system up. It took my insides a long time to recover from being under for so long. The medicine made me throw up, which was far from fun, so I ended up taking medicine for the medicine.
21. Have you had/are you having any other follow up treatment? No, not at all. I was given the suggestion of several exercises for strenghthening my back muscles, though.
22. What would you tell other scoliosis patients about your experence? Don't freak out. Scoliosis is incredibly common, and, ever since I had my surgery, there are more and better methods of dealing with it. If you do need the surgery, do it as soon as you can and get on with your life not having to worry about your back. I have no regrets about not waiting a year before having mine, which I could have. If you think you need a second opinion, then, by all means, get one. It is very important to get an overly qualified scoliosis specialist for your age group. And, lastly, educate yourself about your condition and its possible treatments. Talk to as many people as you can that have been through it all.
