I was diagnosed with scoliosis wen I was 11 during my yearly checkup. My doctor noticed that when I stood, my left shoulder was higher than my right. When I bent down, they were uneven and I couldn’t control it. Looking back at my elementary school pictures, we noticed that it had been that way for a while but it wasn’t very noticeable. I got a few X-rays and the doctors told me that I had a 23 degree curve. The doctors asked me if I would rather get a brace soon or have surgery later. I said yes to the brace because I knew it would help and I’ve never gotten surgery before. At the time, I had no idea that it was plastic and would irritate me and that I would have to wear it 22 hours a day.
Over the years, I have gotten used to it and I’m glad I said yes because I’m now 14 years old and my curve is only at 10 degrees, which is barely a curve at all! But I’ll still have to wear it for another year or two until I stop growing. It annoys me knowing I can’t do much activity in a day and I can’t dance whenever I want, and I can’t wear clothes I like. I’ve lost self confidence in a lot of things and my brace has become a huge insecurity of mine since I’ve had it. But I know that over all the cons about it, there is one big pro that takes over. It is helping me stay healthy and it’s preventing me from having back pains later in my life.
I just wanted to share this with you all so you can know you’re not alone! Thank you for reading! 🙂
Emily <3
