The Teen Scoliosis Homepage

First, I would like to introduce myself, so you feel more comfortable about asking me advice or sharing your own stories, and why I created a website about scoliosis. E-mail me anytime at Krashload@aol.com

My name is Allison and I am a senior at Islip High School in New York. I have a boyfriend, who happens to be one of my best friends, named Jeremiah. We have been going out for two and a half years and he was extremely supportive when I had my surgery. He spent every moment with me in the hospital with me that he could; we tried to tell the nurses that he was my brother, but they saw how he kissed me on the forehead when the operation was over, that he wasn't. Jeremiah brushed my hair for me because I got to frustrated with how knotty it go while I was in the hospital and talked with me when I was awake. Right now, I am doing research at Cold Spring Harbor National Laboratory and that takes up a lot of my time. I also have a paper that I will try to upload later.

Ok, obviously you didn't come to the website to hear about me. I came up with the idea to start a website about scoliosis, to help teenagers decide if they want to have spinal fusion after hearing the experiences of people who did decide to have it. Also, I am going to seek their permission to post their e-mail address so that you can ask them anything that may concern you about the surgery.
My Experience

In New York, everyone is examined for scoliosis once a year during gym class. And every year, my gym teacher told me to have it checked out by a physician. The doctor told me it was only mild and to come back next year. Finally, when I entered high school I began to cheer for the football team; doing the actually stunting and jumps did not hurt, but cheering at night and walking to the local MacDonalds did. I began to notice that my back hurt whenever it was cold out. My lower back, the lumbar section, felt all tense and I would get this intense pain when ever it was so cold that I shivered, which is a lot during a New York winter. I dismissed the feeling until the following winter when it happened again. I went to my doctor who recommended me to, who in my opinion, is the best: Dr. John Labiak. I went in to the office in April, 1997, with the opinion: there is no way in hell that I am letting a knife get that close to my spine and be paralysed for the rest of my life. So, Dr. Labiak examined me and believed that I had a curve of 17 º. He told me to have X-rays done next door and come back. He did some formula and figured out that I had a slight upper curve and a 49º lumbar curve. At that time he told me my options: don't do anything and most likely my curve (I was 16 at the time so a brace was out of the question, and I don't think that I would have worn one anyway because from what I have heard it doesn't work, but that is my opinion) would increase 1º every year for the rest of my life, I could have the surgery now, or I could wait. I decided to have the surgery that year during the summer, after I did my research; I spent countless hours on the Internet and reading books about whether or not I should have the surgery. Anyway, after I decided I went back for more X-rays and stuff at the office, I donated blood to myself in case I needed a transfusion, and that was basically it. When I think of it now, I was relatively calm about the whole thing; I didn't let it phase me, at least until the night before the surgery. The night before I had the surgery, Jeremiah and I rented SCREAM from the video store and began to think about what would happen if I died. Let me tell you how scary that was for me, but the movie did keep my mind off of the surgery. Jeremiah left my house, and somehow I managed to fall asleep that night. The next morning came (July 25, 1997) and I went to the hospital (Good Samaritan Hospital) with my family and Jeremiah. My surgery was scheduled for 11 o'clock in the morning and I wasn't put under until 5 o'clock! I think it would be a good time to describe what happened from the time I entered the hospital on July 25 until I woke up much later that night.

You got into the hospital and they ask you if you have eaten or drunken anything in the last 12 hours, I think. Make sure you haven't had anything in that period of time, otherwise they can't operate and you don't know when they will be able to. Next they tell you to put on a gown and lie down on the bed in the Pre-OP room. After a little while they give you a shot which makes your mouth really dry. Then you wait for a really long time, until your doctor is ready, or in my case, done with another surgery. Then you are wheeled up to be anesthetized. This is a scary moment! The anesthesiologist talks to you for a little bit and puts an IV into your arm. I don't remember anything else after that, but according to my family I said some really weird things. Then, poof, it is all over and there are 500 people around you when you wake up. I stayed in the hospital for five days, but this number will vary according to your recovery speed.

This is my attempt to describe the surgery to you. There a more detailed version in the links that are at the bottom of the page.

When you have the surgery, your lungs are collapsed and you are sliced (at least by Dr. Labiak) from your waist to your mid back, in a line that curves with your own body. Then your bottom rib is removed and ground up. This is going to later be used in the actual fusion of the spine. Then they align your spine and anchor it with a rod and some screws. However, you will not go off when you go through a metal detector (I was amazed though when I went through one and didn't go off any way). After they put the rod in, they put the powdered rib into your spine, hoping that it will fuse (become part of makeup of your spine) and reinforce the straightness of the back, if, for whatever reason, the screws fall out. For six weeks you need to stay in bed and do minimal work. However, it is important that you walk so you get your balance back and don't lose muscle tissue in your legs. Then for six months after the surgery you are not allowed to participate in gym and bend or twist so that you don't disturb the fusing of the bone graft and the spine. After six months, go back to whatever you did before. My advice is do so, and quickly. Be as active as before. You can do anything that you did before the surgery afterwards!
I am trying to get other experiences so you can have a diverse mix of examples before deciding. Below are links that I found helpful, so you don't have to search the web for an enormous amount of time. E-mail me at your leisure, without being embarrassed or worrying about my reaction toward your question. IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION, ASK!!! E-Mail me at Krashload@aol.com