Dear All,
It's been a while since I've posted here and for that I apologise. For the pre-op forum trawlers, I'm well aware of the importance of finding positive posts within the plethora of those regarding complications, pain and revision surgery. Here is mine.
My Scoliosis journey has been rather fortuitous thus far. I was diagnosed with scoliosis at 12 years old after getting checked out for some on-off back and shoulder pain I was having. The double curvature was fairly mild and, like many, I was advised to return to the hospital every year to check for progression - this went on for another 12 years. Over that time my back pain worsened and my stamina in daily life decreased. Giving up contact sports at school, limiting the hours I could practice music (my posture whilst playing the 'cello seemed to aggravate things and I eventually had to give it up), needing to stop and lie down multiple times a day and sometimes just needing to stay home altogether when I should have been at university lectures etc... These things are often part and parcel of the scoliosis journey.
At age 23 I had the appointment with my surgeon (Gavin Bowden) that determined my curvature was not going to stabilise, and at 60deg thoracic and 40deg lumbar it was time to operate. A daunting prospect for all.
I spent most of my time researching after that, watching videos of the operation and spending hours searching through forums trying to work out what I should expect. Most of the time I'd come across horror stories regarding paralysis or chronic pain and, although these things CAN happen, no one ever told me that a lot of the time those with successful outcomes go off and live their lives and don't post any more.
My surgery was on the 3rd January 2012, they fused T3 to L1 and it took 9 hours. The first few days afterwards were probably the hardest of my life so far. The pain is pretty astounding but, for me, the hardest part was, when the anaesthetic had subsided and I was wheeled into the ward, I had an overwhelming sense of aloneness and a total lack of control. This was probably not helped by the hospital staff who, bar one, rarely spoke to me with compassion or made me feel looked after.
It seemed like progress was slow for the week in hospital and although I didn't feel ready, I headed home with my parents. This was when things took a turn for the better. It must have been my mums cooking. Day 1 at home was tough as I spent it throwing up from the medication (bad idea... pain...) but form there I made unbelievably swift progress. I was walking more and more every day and feeling happier and more comfortable by the hour. The pain was subsiding at such a rate that in under 3 weeks I was completely off any pain medication (having been given 3 months worth..). After 3 months I moved out of my parents back to London and instantly got back to work going on a 2 month tour singing.
Since then I haven't been restricted once. Physically I've been able to do everything I want to - surfing, climbing, hiking, skydiving etc... with next to no issues. After particularly intense days I sometimes find my lower back takes a bit of time to ease in when I lie down so I know I need to address this and strengthen it with exercises. I'm sure it's because those lumbar vertebrae and discs are taking all the strain now that most of the rest of my spine is fused (do you think this is a fair assumption?). Every few months I may also experience a short sharp pain in my ribs but that used to happen before too. Apart from these minor issues I'm trouble free and often forget about what happened completely.
So that's about it. Away from the spine related, all is going well. I'm still singing and loving my new-ish lung capacity. Things are busy and I'm getting to sing all over the world with trips to Morocco, Portugal, South Korea, France and Costa Rica coming up in the next few months, then I'll be taking a little time off at the beginning of next year to go and see the world on my terms
I hope this has helped a little bit to convince anyone who needs convincing that this operation can fix you. I know things can go wrong, drastically for some, but it can also go very right. Thanks to wonderful forums like this everyone is able to make an informed decision and, whatever it is, I wish every one of you all the luck in the world.
Billy x
It's been a while since I've posted here and for that I apologise. For the pre-op forum trawlers, I'm well aware of the importance of finding positive posts within the plethora of those regarding complications, pain and revision surgery. Here is mine.
My Scoliosis journey has been rather fortuitous thus far. I was diagnosed with scoliosis at 12 years old after getting checked out for some on-off back and shoulder pain I was having. The double curvature was fairly mild and, like many, I was advised to return to the hospital every year to check for progression - this went on for another 12 years. Over that time my back pain worsened and my stamina in daily life decreased. Giving up contact sports at school, limiting the hours I could practice music (my posture whilst playing the 'cello seemed to aggravate things and I eventually had to give it up), needing to stop and lie down multiple times a day and sometimes just needing to stay home altogether when I should have been at university lectures etc... These things are often part and parcel of the scoliosis journey.
At age 23 I had the appointment with my surgeon (Gavin Bowden) that determined my curvature was not going to stabilise, and at 60deg thoracic and 40deg lumbar it was time to operate. A daunting prospect for all.
I spent most of my time researching after that, watching videos of the operation and spending hours searching through forums trying to work out what I should expect. Most of the time I'd come across horror stories regarding paralysis or chronic pain and, although these things CAN happen, no one ever told me that a lot of the time those with successful outcomes go off and live their lives and don't post any more.
My surgery was on the 3rd January 2012, they fused T3 to L1 and it took 9 hours. The first few days afterwards were probably the hardest of my life so far. The pain is pretty astounding but, for me, the hardest part was, when the anaesthetic had subsided and I was wheeled into the ward, I had an overwhelming sense of aloneness and a total lack of control. This was probably not helped by the hospital staff who, bar one, rarely spoke to me with compassion or made me feel looked after.
It seemed like progress was slow for the week in hospital and although I didn't feel ready, I headed home with my parents. This was when things took a turn for the better. It must have been my mums cooking. Day 1 at home was tough as I spent it throwing up from the medication (bad idea... pain...) but form there I made unbelievably swift progress. I was walking more and more every day and feeling happier and more comfortable by the hour. The pain was subsiding at such a rate that in under 3 weeks I was completely off any pain medication (having been given 3 months worth..). After 3 months I moved out of my parents back to London and instantly got back to work going on a 2 month tour singing.
Since then I haven't been restricted once. Physically I've been able to do everything I want to - surfing, climbing, hiking, skydiving etc... with next to no issues. After particularly intense days I sometimes find my lower back takes a bit of time to ease in when I lie down so I know I need to address this and strengthen it with exercises. I'm sure it's because those lumbar vertebrae and discs are taking all the strain now that most of the rest of my spine is fused (do you think this is a fair assumption?). Every few months I may also experience a short sharp pain in my ribs but that used to happen before too. Apart from these minor issues I'm trouble free and often forget about what happened completely.
So that's about it. Away from the spine related, all is going well. I'm still singing and loving my new-ish lung capacity. Things are busy and I'm getting to sing all over the world with trips to Morocco, Portugal, South Korea, France and Costa Rica coming up in the next few months, then I'll be taking a little time off at the beginning of next year to go and see the world on my terms
I hope this has helped a little bit to convince anyone who needs convincing that this operation can fix you. I know things can go wrong, drastically for some, but it can also go very right. Thanks to wonderful forums like this everyone is able to make an informed decision and, whatever it is, I wish every one of you all the luck in the world.
Billy x
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