Panic..

So, up until two nights ago I had been very calm & almost unnaturally unaffected by the prospects of my upcoming surgeries.. (5weeks today I'll be chilling in hospital) but... A few nights ago while lying in bed pondering the meaning of life as many people tend to do at silly o'clock in the morning it suddenly dawned on me exactly what my body is about to go through, and its a lot for anyone! The thought of them opening up my sides, breaking ribs, collapsing lungs, screws and rods & chest drains is just not on the agenda for a normal 19 year old.. But that's the thing I'm not normal, which is the reason they're doing this whole thing in the first place! I just have to try and keep the positives in mind same as every other person who has been through or is going through this process! I'll be taller, stand straighter, no more muscle cramps, nor more rib hump or sticky outty shoulder blade, even sides and hips being levelled off.. Sure I'll have a few scars but they're just there to let everyone else know what you have been through & shouldn't be anything to be embarrassed about! My message in this blog is really just to stay positive, the whole surgery process is just a short time out of your whole life!! & anytime I get scared that's all I need to remember.. If anyone has any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to email me :) leighgould03@gmail.com, LJxxx

Letters from London

So since my last blog post I have received a couple of letters, one about what will be happening & another about when. The first letter was really just a discussion of what happened at my pre-op clinic. It started with my diagnosis of Double Major Scoliosis with my treatment plan being firstly, an Anterior fixation of T11-L3 followed by a Posterior T4- L3 fixation. The Surgeon Mr. Shaw wrote the letter to my consultant in Belfast Mr. H & also to my GP which was then also sent to me to keep me in the loop really... Mr Shaw described me as a lovely girl with a clear MRI & 2 curves in the mid  70s, although I still have a good range of spinal movement, aka I'm flexible! There was then a note to reiterate the risks; 1 in 300 paralysis rate, infection at 1-2%, bleeding etc. He then concluded with well wishes & looks forward to seeing me for my surgery. The next letter was much shorter, basically arranging a date to head over to London. I fly from Belfast with my Mum & Nana to London on the 29th of August, being admitted that day to Hospital at 2pm with surgery number one being performed the next day! Slightly nerve wrecking but...the quicker it happens the quicker I can get recovering! Thanks for reading again,
                                                                                                     LJxx

You, Me & Scoliosis

So, thought I'd do a post to let you all know how I found out about Scoliosis & how you can look out for it!  So the first time i thought something was a bit funny about the way I looked, was when standing in Zara, I was standing in front of my mum when she noticed my shoulders were uneven & that i was standing slantingly. Her first instinct was that I was possibly growing more on one side than the other & we had never even heard of scoliosis so it didn't even entered our heads! I had a suspicion it had something to do with my back, so Mum made me an appointment with our local GP. As soon as he looked at my back, he knew exactly what it was, Scoliosis. He referred me onto a consultant, Mr. Hamilton. He did a number of things, X-rays, MRIs etc.. He confirmed the scoliosis diagnosis. I had a double major curve standing, at the time, at 54 degrees and 56 degrees. This was quite a shock to us who had never even heard of Scoliosis! I was told by Mr. H that I would be fitted for a Boston Brace, commonly used for trying to slow down the progression of the curves. I was to wear the brace for one year, wearing it 24/7...not ideal at all! Anyway, a year passed & still my curves got worse, the brace was then ditched & I was left to tick along in everyday live until just before my 18th birthday. I had another appointment to see Mr. H at which he told me my curves had progressed by 10 degrees.. I was then at this point put on the waiting list for surgery. Another year went by, I went off to the University of Aberdeen to start my Law degree & meet so many amazing people! Through the winter my back got sore from the cold weather which resulted in heading to physio once a week which helped relieve a lot of the tension my curves were putting on my back. I then carried on with my daily life, when a phone call came from my Mum, the day before my 19th birthday (always around my birthday for goodness sake!) anyway, the call was from Mr. Shaw, a consultant from the Royal National Orthopaedic  Hospital in London saying he would do my surgery & that I would be meeting with him on the 25th of June to arrange my visit to London for my surgery. So on I went on the 25th with my Nana Martha, & best friend of 15 years, Catherine. I had X rays, ECGs, Blood Tests, and after all the poking and prodding was finished I met with my Surgeon, his assistant & Anesthetist. It was agreed that I would have two surgeries, one approach through my ribs on the 2nd of September & the second approach down the middle of my back done on the 9th of September. I would then head home back to Belfast in Ireland 2 weeks after the 1st surgery. And that takes us to now, patiently waiting for my surgery day to come...

                                                                                                                  xxLJ 

How it all started..

So I am 19 now, but was first diagnosed with Scoliosis when I was 14. For those of you who don't know what Scoliosis is, it is an unexplained curvature of the spine, cause is unknown and there are various treatments available for people diagnosed with this condition. I have a double major curve both in the mid 70s, which is pretty substantial! Don't worry scoliosis sufferers you aren't alone!! It's more common in girls, of course it would be, we get all the bad luck with periods, pms and childbirth!! But it's not as bad as you would imagine, at least not for me, I had no back pain whatsoever, of course after hours and hours of shopping I may get a little bit achey but doesn't everyone? I have tried various treatments, bracing, physio and my newest one will be surgery. I am scheduled for 2 surgeries this summer in the National Orthopaedic Hospital in London, I am surprisingly not nervous at all... Sure it's going to hurt and it'll take me a while getting back into the swing of things but its only a couple of months out of my whole life! Having such a supportive family and friends sure does help though..I'll continue to ramble on until after my surgeries to let you all know bits and pieces about me & my scoliosis journey! xxLJ