A Boy Brushed Red

Hello there, Blue Powerblogger here!

So this past Friday, November 21, signified the one-year anniversary of my spinal fusion surgery!!! Some of you may wonder, "what the heck is that?", so I am dedicating my post to scoliosis!

So in February of 2007, I noticed this weird lump on my back. I pointed it out to my parents, who simply shrugged it off, saying it was probably just a pulled muscle. Well, I am a worrywart, so I made them take me to the doctor. The doctor pretty much freaked out, and said I had severe scoliosis. She tried to make light of the situation by saying, "well, the good news is, now you get to use one of those cool rolling backpacks!". Thats when I started crying.

So basically, I was diagnosed with progressive scoliosis. Now, everyone has a slight spinal curveature, maybe of about 15 degrees, but mine was 45 on top and 50 on the bottom. This meant that my spine could start compressing my lungs and causing other serious health defects. Since growth can worsen the degrees, we had to take immediate action. The doctor sent me to Shands hospital in Gainesville for treatment and to possibly have surgery. We were unimpressed with the specialist there, so we got a referral to Shriners Hospital in Philadelphia. Once we met with the spine specialist there, they decided that I needed a brace for the time being. It was a pain in the $@% though because I wore it all day for six whole months and then I still needed surgery! So on November 21, 2007, I had spinal fusion surgery, which is where two titanium rods are bolted to your spine with twenty screws. It was an eight hour surgery! Then, I had to stay in the hospital for a week and practice moving around and stuff. I think that it was during this time that I had to take 24 pills of medicine a day, which was insane. The drugs have caused me to have little memory of my stay in the hospital. 

Then I was sent home, but the problem was, it was incredibly painful for me to sit up...and I had a four hour plane ride home. So I laid on the floor of the plane the whole way. I had to stay home from school for a whole month, which sucked, but I had rarely any makeup work to do (thank God for compassion!) 

So yeah, that was my rollercoaster ride. But now I am all better, I just have to be careful with my back.

Oh, and youtube "You're Ever So Inviting" or any other Underoath stuff. They are the jam. My newfound obsession. And download "A Boy Brushed Red Living in Black and White".

Until next week,

-Caroline