Hi! My name's Melissa and I'm 14 years old. I just had a spinal fusion on June 19, 2006 and I want to share my story.

In fourth grade I went to the doctor for a physical. The doctor asked me to stand up and walk across the room. She noticed that one of my shoulder blades stuck out, so she asked me to bend over. She ordered x-rays and we found out my curve was 15 degrees. In fourth grade I worried a lot so when they told me this I was terrified. I had never heard of scoliosis before. My parents did a lot of research to find out what it was. We were referred to a specialist.

About 3 months later we went to see Dr. Blanco. He told us the basics about scoliosis and explained we would have appointments every 4 months to monitor the progression of my curve. He also explained that since I was just beginning puberty I would most likely have to get a brace since he starts bracing with the curve hits 23 degrees. I basically tried to ignore this because I wasn't ready to accept that i had scoliosis.

Four months came quickly and I went back to see Dr. Blanco for the second time. My curve already progressed to 25 degrees so doctor Blanco decided it was time to get fitted for a brace. So I went across the hall to the brace room where they got my measurements for the brace.

The next time I went to see doctor Blanco I got my brace. I remember that I was very upset that I had to where this bulky plastic thing untll I was sixteen. When they put my brace on I started to cry. They told me to go get some lunch while i was wearing the brace so I had time to figure out if there was anything wrong with my brace. So my dad took me out to lunch. I didn't want anyone to see me in my brace so I decided on Mcdonalds. I remember I was so uncomfortable I hate on my hands and knees on the floor of our van. When we saw Dr. Blanco I was still in tears. He ordered x-rays and decided everything fit great.

It was really hard wearing my brace. My parents pushed and pushed and tried every thing to get me to wear my brace. At most I would wear my brace 3 hours a day. When school started my mom talked to my teachers and the principle and arranged help with taking my brace on and off. I would try to wear my brace during school but it didn't work. My whole grade knew about my brace and I got very annoyed when people would ask me about it. Anyway I hated wearing the brace and i would sneak it off in the hallways and during recess. The next year or so went about the same. Not wearing my brace getting yelled at by the doctor and my curve increaseing. Honestly I have to say i don't remember a lot of things because I would always block it out of my mind. I just wanted to be normal. At doctors appointments i would always distract my self and not listen to anything that was being said.

After a year of seeing Dr. Blanco he told me he was moving to a different state and i would be referred to Dr. Abel. I was very shocked and wasn't very happy about this change. As it turns out Dr. Abel is a really well known doctor and I'm glad I was referred to him.

My first appointment with Dr. Abel he decided i needed a brace that would fit me perfectly. (Because I was so skinny and my curve I had a lot of bones that stick out and that was part of the reason my first brace was so uncomfortable) So he set up a brace casting. Life with my second brace was basically they same. I didn't wear my brace. By this time i had 2 curves. I don't remember when they discovered my second curve. About a year or so later at my next appointment Dr. Abel announced my worst fear it was time for surgery. I started to cry. Dr. Abel came over and hugged me and said that I shouldn't blame my self because at the rate my curve increased the brace would have caused too much pain and wouldn't have worked in the end anyway. It was all ready April and i wasn't ready for surgery in the summer so my parents scheduled surgery for June 19, 2006.

So basically to sum up my before surgery expierence with scoliosis to me it basically didn't exsist. I didn't want to accept that I was different from other kids. I ignored everything in my life that had to do with scoliosis.

So for the whole year before surgery I thought about it a lot and was really scared. By May i cried my self to sleep almost every night. Before I knew it 8th grade was over and surgery was getting closer. I had one week of summer before my surgery. By this time I just ready to get surgery over with. On Wednesday 5 days before my surgery I went for my pre-op appointment. I met with Dr. Abel and he explained the surgery to me. My fusion would be from T5 to L3. Then I went to the hospital and got blood work done. After my pre-op I didn't worry much. I just enjoyed the time I had with my friends. Then on Friday I went to kings dominion with my family. We came back on Sunday and I went out to dinner with one of my best friends. After that we went to a baseball game so I could say goodbye to everyone. And that's when I snapped. I started crying and getting really scared at the baseball game. Finally my dad decided it was time to go home. When I got home I was hysterical. I cried as I packed then I got online to get reassuring comments from my friends. Then i went to bed.

When I woke up I took my blanket and my stuffed pig and went straight to the car. I cried on the whole way to the hospital. When we got there we went to the waiting room. They called me back and my parents and i went into a room where 2 other people were waiting for surgery. I put on my hospital gown and layed in the bed. They moved pretty fast. My anesthesiologists came in and talked to me. Then Dr. Abel came in and gave me a hug. I got my IV and then my met my O.R. nurse. Then the anesthesiologists came back in and gave me the relaxing medicine. After that every thing is foggy. I remember telling my mom I felt dizzy and she was like its just the medicine. Then they came in and started to take the bars on the bed down and i remember crying when they started to take me away from my parents and saying no no please i dont want to go. After that all i remember is seeing bright lights and a bunch of doctors.

The first time I woke up I remember them taking the breathing tube out of my mouth and then asking for my parents. But I barely remember this. The second time I woke up my parents were there. I was really out of it. Then they brought the portable X-ray machine and they rolled me around and put the plates under my back which was not fun! Then they took me to my hospital room. I didn't have to go into ICU and I got a private room. After that I slept until 8 p.m. when i woke up the anesthesia had began to where off and I noticed that my left lung felt really tight. This scared me so my mom called the nurse. Luckily nothing was wrong. I slept from then until Tuesday morning. They took my catheder out and then got me up to go to the bathroom. After that they had me sit in a chair. It was really uncomforatable. After sitting up for about 15 minutes i got really sick and threw up every where. They let me go back to bed and then gave me some medicine through my IV to settle my stomach. Late Tuesday my mom noticed my hand was swollen from the IV so they switched then the IV to my other hand. On Wednesday I had to sit up for longer and I walked down the hall with my nurse. Wednesday night my IV fell out so i had to get one in my arm then I had a blood transfusion. Thursday I had to get up 4 times and walk and sit in a chair for 2 hours. Friday I got dischared. The whole time I was in the hospital I was in a lot of pain. It was really hard because at first it took two people to help me change position. I was very grumpy when I was in the hospital and did not want to get up at all! Also eating was really hard for me on average every day I would eat 3 bites of rice and a cup of jello and a can of 7 up.

The First week I was home it was awful. I was in a lot of pain and really frusterated because I couldn't do anything by myself. Eventually my mom called the Dr. and he switched my medications around. Once the medications made me comfortable (which took about a day) I started to have my friends over and started to go out for short periods of time. Now I am feeling great. I can only stay out for about 2 hours at a time. I went to see The Devil Wears Prada last week and I've been going out with my parents everyday and having friends over. I have also gone swimming and to a baseball game. It does get frusterating because my friends still don't understand that there are still lots of things I can't do. Since I've been home I've lost 10 lbs and i now weigh 90 which scared me. I have also gotten a lot taller. I still have some pain now and then but not severe. There were ALOT of rough times and probally still some to come but now that my surgery is over I can move on and not have to worry because my scoliosis is under control!!!

My advice to other kids is to not be afraid to face their scoliosis. Also listen to your doctors and if they give you a brace wear it. Braces are tough but it is worth it to have a flexible back! If you are having surgery I know there is nothing I can say to make your worries go away but trust me you really have nothing to worry about the doctors and nurses know what they are doing and they will take good care of you. It helps a lot if you have a positive attitude. Make sure you move when you get home and eat enough. I know its tough now but just think once your done with your treatment you wont have to worry about your scoliosis!

Things you Might want to know!

• The first time you get up after surgery you will probally get dizzy or sick
• It's normal to lose weight after surgery (I have lost 10 lbs) but try to keep healthy eating habits.
• When you wake up you will have a cathedar
• At first you will be constipated
• The most comforatable position I've found is lying flat on a couch or bed with 2 feather pillows on top of each other.
• When I was in a lot of pain it helped to put heat on my back
• If you are scared about waking up in recovery and seeing other patients (i was) don't worry about it you'll have so much medicine in you will feel really relaxed
• Make a list of your questions to ask your doctor before your surgery
• Don't worry about remembering being taken into the operating room because the relaxing stuff they gives you puts you totally out of it
• If you are a girl its a good idea to braid your hair or put it up because laying in the hospital bed gets your hair really knotty.
• Once the anesthesia wears off you might feel more pain and some tightness (like i felt in my rib/lung) they explained to me this is because they move a lot of things around so its normal to feel those sensations

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