This article is amazing! Wouldn’t it be fantastic if they found what caused adolescent idiopathic scoliosis?!?!?
http://www.theandrewsinstitute.com/News/Research/Article.aspx?id=438347&utm_content=buffer1d178&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=Buffer

     Last week I went on a science trip to the Barrier Islands on the coast of GA. Our group went to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center where they rescue ill and injured sea turtles. We were able to look at a shell of a deceased sea turtle, which was fascinating because we were able to see the spinal cord. That particular turtle was put to sleep because his shell had been so damaged that his spinal cord was also damaged, and he was left paralyzed. The Georgia Sea Turtle Center realized he would not live a happy and productful life, so he was put down. They kept his shell so visitors like myself could see and learn about the turtle.

     Seeing the spine of that turtle reminded me of my trip to Atlantis last year in the Bahamas. While I was there I was able to swim with the dolphins. I also learned that there was a dolphin which had scoliosis that lived in the facility. He was not allowed to participate with the public like the other dolphins. Instead he stayed in the shelter so no further harm could come to his spine. The trainers even did exercises wih him that sounded much like the Schroth exercises that I do. So just like humans, some animals have scoliosis and some animals don’t!

I found this picture on Fox News’ website and thought it would be cool to share. It is the skeleton of Richard III, which was recently found underneath a parkinglot. And yes, his spine does have scoliosis! It goes to show, anyone can have scoliosis, king or peasant!

So, I have received the results from my x-ray. For the first time, I had my X-ray done without me wearing the brace. My lumbar curve was previously 16 degrees in brace and my thoracic curve was 19 degrees in brace. Six months later and out of brace, the lumbar curve is 20 degrees and my thoracic curve is 33 degrees. The X-ray also showed that I am now a Riser 4, meaning I am pretty much done growing. When my orthotist looked at my X-ray, though, he thought that my bones did not look mature like my Riser number implied. As a result, I went and got a wrist X-ray, which showed that my bones are indeed not done maturing. Therefore, I still have time to get more correction from my brace. Based on these facts, my orthotists said that my curves will probably end up being around 35 and 35 out of brace when everything is done. Since a brace is considered successful if your curves end up at the same degrees at which they started ( mine were around 40 degrees in the lumbar region and 45 degrees in the thoracic region), this is amazing news! This is also great because doctors start to consider correcting your curves by way of surgery once your curves reach 40-50 degrees. So,now my orthotist is making a few adjustments to my brace to hopefully result in more improvement during this 4-6 months that he thinks I have left to grow. Thank you to all of you that have been praying for my results since my last post!

We are all facing a new year. During this time, we make resolutions with things we feel will better ourselves. Some of us are glad 2012 is over because of difficult circumstances we endured and are looking forward to the hope of a better 2013. Some of us know 2013 will still hold uncertainty for us. This is how I feel. As anyone with scoliosis knows, the unknown is always there like a cloud that can hang low and dark in the sky. With scoliosis, sometimes, our dark clouds open up with rain, and other times, they open up with rays of bright sunlight. I have sat through periods of both, but I have trudged through, and done what all of the specialists have said to do. Right now I feel as if I am waiting under another cloud, waiting to see if rain or sunshine will break through. I had an x-ray taken for the first time today with me being out of brace for 24 hours. All of the other x-rays were in brace, while this one was out. My last x-ray from July 2012 was measured at 19 degrees in the thoracic region and 16 degrees in the lumbar region. Now, I wait and see what my orthotist, Gez Bowman, says about my new x-ray. Rain or sunlight?

Your mind is probably very confused at the moment, as you are thinking, “What could scoliosis possibly have to do with the fiscal cliff?” Well, it is actually a very simple analogy. If politicians in Washington, D.C. do not sort out our nation’s spending and budget, then we will have much pain in our economy. In the same way, if we do not take care of our scoliosis and take necessary measures to keep our spine straight, then we will also have pain in our back. It is far better to manage your economic situation and your scoliotic situation now rather than procrastinating and making it worse later.

I found an amazing passage that I think describes healing prefectly. It came out of the book Their Mysterious Ways Too: More Amazing Stories About God’s Animals and Us. Even though the story was about a German shepherd, the paragraph on healing applies to everyone, especially those of us with scoliosis. It said:

      I realized that healing is far more complicated than I expected it to be. It isn’t God stepping into our world and wiping out all our problems with a wave of His mighty hand. It is God bringing together enough of us to solve our problems with the talents, the insights, the dedication, patience and determination that He has already given to us. It is God’s love motivating us to do what we didn’t know we could do, to remember what we thought we had forgotten, to call upon others for the skills we ourselves don’t possess. (p.126)

I think this describes healing perfectly. God challenges us, which in turns challenges our faith in Him. To me, that is what this passage is trying to say. He wants us to find the determination, patience, knowledge, and faith that we already have to overcome our problems that are new.

Just like the dog in the story, I have had so many wonderful doctors and, of course, God’s guidance and assistance through the journey. So,this Christmas season, I think this is what I am thankful for: all of the guidance that has been given to me over the years from all of the different, amazing people in my life.

I wanted to let everyone know that Leah Stoltz, the founder of Curvy Girls, will be on the Teen Nick HALO Awards tonight at 8 PM EST. She will also be giving a shout out to all of the Curvy Girls! Make sure to watch! She won the award for starting the first Curvy Girls group in New York when she was 13.

Now I am starting a Curvy Girls group in GA. If there is anyone in GA interested in coming to a meeting, contact me.

Email: ga.girls@yahoo.com

Well, I just finished doing therapy. For anyone who doesn’t know, I do Schroth therapy which originated from Germany. It has now come over to the US, and I have been to Scoliosis Rehab in Wisconsin and Arizona for treatment. In between visits, I do my exercises at home. A lot of people ask how I could not mind doing therapy everyday, but the answer is simple. After a long day of having gravity compress my spine down, it makes my back feel better to be back in its correct position. So for anyone who might be skipping therapy, remember its what’s best for your spine! As an extra, it makes you feel better too!

Known for her beauty, elegance, and grace, Audrey Hepburn could possibly be the most inspirational woman in history. Born in Belgium, she moved to the Netherlands  to study at Arnhem Conservatory as a youth. After the Nazis invaded the Netherlands, she and her mother struggled to survive. After the war at age 22, she left Europe and went to New York to be on Broadway. I think we all know the rest of the story. Despite her struggles as a youth and a young adult, she went through life poised, with her chin held high(something all of us with scoliosis should work on, as we sometimes like to stand hunched over or with our shoulders turned in), and with a great sense of style.

I took it upon myself to find some of her best quotes(in my opinion) and inspire you with them!

“For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.”- Audrey Hepburn

I liked this quote because it spoke the complete truth about life. To be seen as beautiful, you must first act beautiful by “looking for the good in others” and “speak[ing] only words of kindness.” Not to sound cliche, but beauty truly does come from the inside, not the outside. To relate it back to scoliosis, it means that scars, braces and rib humps don’t contribute or take away from your beauty. Only you can decide how pretty you are. Lastly she says to know that you are never alone, and even those of us with scoliosis.

“I believe in pink! I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe in tomorrow, and I believe in miracles.”

First of all, I completely agree with the first statement. I completely believe whole-heartedly in pink! The most feminine of all colors, all I have to do is put on something pink and I immediately feel extra girly and confident! The second part of the quote talks about life again and focuses on the positive aspect of life. Being happy, remaining strong, and believing in miracles are not circumstantial. You can have happiness anywhere; you can choose positivity over negativity in any enviroment, and if you believe in miracles only during the good times of life, then you don’t truly believe anyway. It’s all about deciding to look at your life as a glass half full, whether you have to wear a brace under or outside your clothes, or if you have surgery looming in the future or scars from the past, things could be 1 million times worse. There are children in Africa and America, too, that are starving, people that are homeless, and people who have lost loved ones.

So follow Ms. Hepburn’s advice; look at life as if the sun is rising instead of setting and as if you have an entire life ahead of you with a purpose and plan instead of troubles this very second.