When I was 6 years old, my mom noticed that my collar bone was higher on one side than the other. Since both my aunt and my grandfather have scoliosis, my mom was familiar with what it looked like. She had contacted a neighbor who was a doctor, and he came to our house to do a regular check to see if I had scoliosis. He said I didn’t have it, but my mom had a gut feeling that something was up, and she took me to Nemours Children’s Hospital, Florida.
My mom and dad found Nemours Children’s when we moved to Lake Nona in 2014. Nemours became our primary care provider, and my siblings and I would see our pediatrician at Nemours. When my mom thought that I might have had scoliosis, things became a bit more serious. My father is a personal injury and medical malpractice attorney. Because of this, when it came time to find the right doctor(s) to help me with a diagnosis and procedures, he was very focused on quality of treatment and care. Nemours was a perfect fit for me because of their proximity and focus on patient safety and satisfaction. When my mom continued to suspect I had scoliosis, we met with Dr. Robert Stanton at Nemours, and that day he confirmed the diagnosis.
My journey with scoliosis was something that I never thought would be so important to me. At the age of 6, I thought it just meant that I would have to wear a back brace to sleep and sometimes have a bit of pain in my back and shoulders. But I would soon come to realize that my scoliosis was getting bad.
When I was 13 years old, my pain increased significantly, specifically behind my shoulder blades. I was also able to see a clear difference in the height of my shoulders, collar bone, and ribs, making me feel uncomfortable or insecure in certain clothing. I have always been involved in pageants, baton twirling, volleyball, cheerleading, and more, so, although it brought me a great deal of pain, scoliosis was never able to completely stop me from anything because of my dedication to perseverance. Between my orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Ryan Ilgenfritz, my parents, and myself, we made the collective decision that I would have to follow through with spinal fusion surgery during the upcoming summer. I was nervous and didn’t know what to expect.
The entire surgery process went very smooth and was as stress-free as possible, thanks to the amazing team at Nemours. My nurses and physical therapists during my five day stay at the hospital after surgery were supportive of me and helped me through many long and painful nights. My quick recovery and love for Nemours would not be the same without the amazing support that I received in the hospital before, during, and after my procedure.
I am beyond thankful for the quick and healthy recovery that I had. I was able to get back to my social summer less than a month after surgery. I am now a varsity cheerleader at my school and am an avid leader in the community. If it was not for the safe and stable environment that is Nemours, my life may not have been so normal after surgery. I am currently preparing for a pageant in June, where I am able to share my story of scoliosis and love for community service, while competing for opportunities and scholarships to put towards furthering my education. Thanks to the amazing doctors at Nemours, I recovered even faster than most kids my age and was able to get back to my life as soon as I could. I am grateful and blessed to have had such an amazing support system following surgery.
In the near future, I plan to continue working hard on expanding my 501c3 nonprofit organization, E-Treasure, where I aim towards keeping electronics out of landfills and closing the digital divide. I also have hopes of becoming a Varsity cheerleading captain at my school. I participate in pageants in the Miss America Organization, where I am currently Miss Jacksonville’s Teen. This is an opportunity for me to share my story and experiences, while earning scholarships to put towards my education. I plan to attend college/university in New York, Florida, or Washington D.C. to study political science and pre-law. I then plan to go on to law school and earn a law degree. I want to become a lawyer. I will also forever be an advocate for children’s health and opportunity to health and wellness resources. I will continue to focus on my physical health and wellbeing, because I value lifestyle and plan to not let my scoliosis hold me back. To all girls and boys going through a scoliosis diagnosis or procedure. First of all, wear your brace, it may help, and it may have prevented me from having to have surgery if I was better about it. Second of all, you are totally not alone, and you are normal. Sometimes, you are going to have pain that others your age don’t have. Sometimes you are going to fit into clothes differently than other kids your age. But you can’t let it define you. Scoliosis was something that I was embarrassed about as a young girl. I was scared that I would be judged for wearing my brace at sleepovers and fought so hard to not have to wear it to school. I now realize that scoliosis set me up to be strong and to be thankful. I am so thankful that I was able to overcome something, and I am so strong because I overcame it. Scoliosis is just a diagnosis for me and for you, don’t be scared and never hold back even when it gets hard. Never let your spinal curves define your worth or hold you back from success.
