Then my computer froze up.
And I thought I was ok because Blogger automatically saves your posts periodically as you're working on them.
Except this time for some completely unknown reason.
I was so upset I just couldn't summon the motivation to re-write that whole thing (but I will, another day). What I was in the middle of when my computer froze was I was uploading a photo of the brace I wore when I had scoliosis, which was an item from the meme I was doing. So since that's not something I've talked about here before I felt in the mood to blog about that.
When I was 8 years old my school nurse discovered I had scoliosis (yeah, for all those times you had to bend over so the nurse could check your back, there were actually people found to have scoliosis!).
From Wikipedia: "Scoliosis is a medical condition in which a person's spine is curved from side to side, and may also be rotated. It is an abnormal lateral curvature of the spine. On an x-ray, the spine of an individual with a typical scoliosis may look more like an "S" or a "C" than a straight line."
I had the "S" curve. In fact the x-ray they have as an example on the Wikipedia page looks like how my spine looked basically.
I had a local pediatrician, but back in ye olden days when I was a kid, the "specialists" were down in New York City, so we would occasionally have to travel to the city to the Hospital For Special Surgery to see my doctor, Dr. Doherty.
It was determined that they would try fitting me with the Milwaukee Brace and see if that would correct my spine (there was concern that my curvature might be too severe at that point to respond to treatment with a brace).
This is what I wore on my torso for 23 hours a day for 2 1/2 years:
(I'm saving this post as a draft right now in case there's some evil curse on this picture which is when my computer crashed last time!!)
That's almost exactly what mine looked like. In fact my Dad still has my old brace hanging in the old garage area of his house. Which is kinda weird. But on the other hand, wouldn't it be weird to just throw a big 'ol brace away? Whatever.They had to first make a body cast of me in order to properly make and fit the brace. I still remember how scary it was when they cut it off me with some kind of saw.
For the most part this whole ordeal of having scoliosis was surprisingly not that upsetting to me. I guess I just kinda took it in stride. I mean, I was 8. I didn't care about combing my hair or brushing my teeth or anything like that at that age, so, oh well, I had to wear a brace. It was uncomfortable and it was hot in the summer, but I wasn't traumatized or scarred for life because of having to wear this thing.
In fact, it cured me! Luckily my spine did respond to the bracing and over 2 1/2 years it straightened out enough to stop wearing the brace. My spine isn't totally straight, but it's straight enough. And my rib cage ended up a bit crooked, but it's not a problem.
Had the brace not worked I would likely have had spinal fusion surgery and had a very long recovery time. I'm thankful I didn't have to go through that, and I'm thankful I developed scoliosis at a young age - it's much more common for it to develop during puberty and I sure I WOULD have cared about having to wear that brace at that age.
So I hope and pray DD didn't inherit scoliosis from me (it runs in our family), but, if she does, there are worse things in the world, that's for sure.
The end.
Funny thing about kids and what does/doesn't matter. I remember when you got it, we discussed it for a few seconds, and went on with more important things in life like playing store and post office and treasure hunt. It seems like as you grow older, everything must be scrutinized and over-analyzed. It's a good lesson to learn from childhood...life isn't always easy or comfortable, but the best you can do is acknowledge whatever situation you're in, do your best, and get on with what's important in life...like making toilet paper ghosts.
ReplyDeleteHi Carole,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the brace helped and that it was caught at an early age because as you said during puberty it would have been much harder for you. Thank God children have the bouncy and can bounce back and roll with the punches.
I'm so glad that your scoliosis was discovered early...if not then you will suffer and it may not correct your spine. Hopefully your baby don't have one because it is such a trauma wearing those heavy tight brace.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in high school, there were a few teens I knew who wore this same kind of brace. And my mother-in-law had scoliosis but wouldn't wear a brace (she was a cheerleader). She has had a life plagued with back problems, multiple surgeries, and got a blood disease from a blood transfusion during surgery. :( So I'm glad you wore a brace, although I'm sad you had to wear a brace.
ReplyDeleteIt's proof of your happy and practical nature that you took it all in stride! :)
Did not know that, and as you say, you took it well. Still a brave post, I think.
ReplyDelete