Richard III: Channel 4 documentary and scoliosis

It's all over the news at the minute, it has been confirmed that the skeleton buried underneath a car park in Leicester discovered several months ago is in fact Richard III. 

What interested me more though, was his skeleton showed that he had scoliosis, which shows just how long the condition has been around.

I can sympathise with Richard III, as looking at his skeleton reminded me of my curve pre-surgery and I really felt for the guy knowing the pain and discomfort he must have been in everyday. Having said that, he didn't seem to let his scoliosis stop him, either!

I felt compelled to write this post after watching the Channel 4 documentary about Richard III last night, which showed how his skeleton was found. I was looking forward to watching it, as I felt it would be a real chance for Channel 4 to raise awareness of scoliosis in a positive and inspiring way. In some ways, I actually felt proud to be connected to a former King through my scoliosis.

What I witnessed, in fact, was a poorly researched programme which to me reflected scoliosis in a highly negative and offensive way.

Scoliosis was portrayed negatively to millions of people, with frequent uses of offensive words being inaccurately used to describe scoliosis throughout the documentary.

What upsets me more, is that there are now many people out there, including children in schools, who will think it's ok to use these offensive words, not just as a result of this programme but also the other inaccurate media coverage out there about Richard III and his scoliosis. It makes me so mad.

Scoliosis effects your self confidence and body image in a big way, I should know, and the insensitive comments throughout this particular documentary and other media coverage will not help those with the condition and are extremely hurtful.

This was a prime opportunity for Channel 4 to promote a positive message about scoliosis including understanding and acceptance but for me this programme did the exact opposite.

I have already made a complaint to Channel 4 but I think it highlights more than ever how important it is to raise awareness of scoliosis and set the record STRAIGHT (so to speak!) :-) about what it really involves and it how it affects people's lives everyday.

Winter Warmers - Pain Relief

Image by insane gal via Flickr

With winter brings dark nights, cold frosty/snowy days and for me and many other scoliosis sufferers - increased back pain.

The cold weather tends to cause an achy type pain and extra stiffness in my lower back, which for some reason I've noticed even more since my surgery and have noticed even more over the past few days. This is one of the reasons I detest winter, that and fear of slipping on icy ground and damaging my metalwork.

During winter, you'll usually find me with a hot water bottle or heat pad permanently attached to my back, as I find heat therapy really helps to relieve my aches and pains. 

As we've been hit by freezing temperatures and snow this week in the UK, I thought I'd share some useful tips/products that I've found and that could help get us through the upcoming winter months.

1. Heat Pads

I found this mobile heat pad on stressnomore.co.uk and think it looks perfect as you can actually strap it round your body! It beats having a hot water bottle tucked down the back of my trousers!

 
This one is also from stressnomore.co.uk. The Beurer HK63 Rheumatherm Magnetic Heating Pad cleverly incorporates heat and magnetic therapy for pain relief.




Amazon also have a good selection of heat pads.

2. Hot water bottles

A scoliosis sufferers best friend! I find my hot water bottle works wonders on my aching back and feels like bliss.

3. A hot bath / shower

If you find having a bath comfortable it can really help the pain. I actually find having a bath quite uncomfortable post-surgery as I cant bend my back against the bath and just have to sit upright which isnt very comfortable! Perhaps a bath pillow would help but I'm yet to find a decent one. I also find it quite difficult getting in and out of the bath so I prefer to have a shower which can be just as good for pain relief!

4. A lie down on a memory foam mattress / topper

For me, memory foam is the best invention ever and a lie down on my memory foam topper instantly relieves my pain. Lots of cushions also help.

5. Thermal tops

I've recently tried wearing a thermal vest top underneath my clothes which really helps to keep the cold out of my back.

Failing the above, a holiday to a nice hot beach will also do just fine! ;)

2012

So it's nearly the end of another year and it's got me thinking about how good of a year it's been for my back and all the things I've managed to do. At the start of the year I was still doing physio, my back still felt weak and stiff and I was scared of doing things which might cause damage.

As the year progressed, I found myself gaining more strength and more confidence to push myself as I began to realise that I'm stronger and can do more than I first thought.  

My scoliosis surgery gave me a new zest for life and one of my resolutions last year was to try new things and get as much as I can out of life, despite my back condition.

This year I have climbed mount Snowdon in Wales, which was very difficult and a huge personal challenge for me, travelled to Marrakech, Turkey and Denmark, bought my first car, taken up Zumba (which I never thought I'd be able to do post surgery) completed a web design course and started a Masters degree in digital marketing communications whilst working full time, which keeps me very busy! 2012 was also the year I was given the all clear by my surgeon that finally, after over 10 years of annual scoliosis checkups, I now no longer need to go back to the hospital for X-rays each year.

My back has also never felt stronger, although I still get the odd pain days, I don't take painkillers as frequently anymore and I can now bend and pick things up more easily, although my grabber still comes in handy especially when tidying things off the floor. I also still believe, even though it's been two years since my surgery, that there is still a way to go and it will continue to improve over the coming months. 

The important thing is a couple of years ago my back condition consumed me, now I rarely think about it and get on with my life - and for that I am thankful.

I hope that in 2013 I can continue to push myself, aim high and not let my scoliosis hold me back, so to speak ;)

Happy new year!

Louise x

Image by pepemczolz via Flickr

Inspirational Scoliosis Quotes

When I was recovering from surgery, reading inspirational quotes helped me to stay positive.

Here are a collection of some of my favourites that I think relate well to scoliosis, scoliosis surgery and recovery:


Recovery / Strength

You can't see the view if you don't climb the mountain.

You never know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have.

Courage isn't having the strength to go on - it is going on when you don't have strength. Napoleon Bonaparte

Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength.

Life consists not in holding good cards, but in playing those cards you hold well

Where there is no struggle, there is no strength - Oprah Winfrey

No matter how hard things may seem, don't get down, and don't give up. The clouds will clear, and there are brighter days ahead.

It doesn't matter how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get up - Vince Lombardi

The way I see it, if you want a rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain - Dolly Parton

Don't confuse your path with your destination. Just because it's stormy now, doesn't mean you aren't headed for sunshine - Unknown.

Everything will be ok in the end. If it's not ok, it's not the end.

Pain

Behind every beautiful thing, there's some kind of pain. Bob Dylan

In the end, some of your greatest pains become your greatest strengths. Drew Barrymore 

Pain is weakness leaving the body. Tera Lynn Childs 

We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey. Kenji Miyazawa 

Pretending to be happy when you're in pain is just an example of how strong you are as a person 

The pain of yesterday is the strength of today

Scars

Scars show us where we have been, they do not dictate where we are going. David Rossi

Never be ashamed of a scar. It simply means you were stronger than whatever tried to hurt you. 

Please feel free to comment and add your own! :)

Louise x

2 year post op checkup

Today I had my 2 year post op checkup. 

After scoliosis surgery you generally get seen for a checkup after 3 months, after 6 months, after 1 year and after 2 years, so this was my final post surgery checkup (hooray!) 

Like last year, it was very weird going back to the hospital I had my surgery at, it's easy to forget what you went through sometimes but going back there again and walking past the ward I was on kind of brought it all back. 

Luckily, I managed to see my surgeon for this appointment (not a registrar) which was good news. He checked my xrays and said all the metalwork looks as though it's in the right place and he thinks it's fused now which is great news. 

I told him that I'm doing alot of activities post op such as going to the gym regularly, aeorbics, zumba etc and that I was worried I was doing too much. His answer was no I won't be doing too much and that I can do anything I want to do now which is good to hear, sometimes you just need a little reassurance. 
 
What made me laugh though today was the guys who did my xrays were fascinated by them, their eyes almost popped out of their sockets when they saw them and they kept asking me loads of questions about my spine and calling me the bionic lady! Surely they've seen other scoliosis post op xrays before...I do like people's reactions to them though and straight after the guy who did the xrays had seen them he was offering to carry everything for me, like I couldn't lift a basket with my clothes in...Funny how people treat you differently after they've seen the xrays!

Anyway it was a good appointment overall and he said I dont have to go back again now or have any further xrays (woohoooo!) unless I have any issues. 

This is kind of a big thing for me, considering I have been having checkups on my back and xrays every year since I was 14. I've had more than enough xrays to last a lifetime. It's a bit weird to think I'll never have to go for another checkup or wear one of those fetching hospital gowns for my yearly xray again (fingers crossed).

Richard III: Lost King had Scoliosis

Just came across this story and thought it was interesting:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-19561018 

 

Pain days

I don't like to post about pain too much as I don't want to put people off having this surgery, as I know that in many severe cases like mine, surgery is unavoidable.

However, this is an honest blog about life after scoliosis surgery and if you need to have this surgery you will be interested in what it's really like living your life after this type of surgery.

Today has been a bad pain day. Actually the past few days have.

Honestly, I don't get as many pain days now as I used to, in fact, I can now go months without taking my painkillers. Considering how many painkillers I took in the year following my surgery, I think this is incredible.

I believe alot of this is down to my exercising and keeping my core as strong as possible as I've worked really hard to get my strength back since surgery.

My pain days generally don't stop me from doing anything. I just keep calm, take a codeine and carry on!  But these pain days do make me stop and remember that I have had major surgery on my spine, it's so easy to forget sometimes.

I've been trying to work out recently what causes my pain days. Am I doing too much by going to the gym frequently and working full time? Should I rest more? I just don't know.  These are the questions I will ask my consultant when I see him next month.

I think though, that I've worked out a few 'triggers' of my post-surgery pain over the past few months:

• Stress I've been under alot of stress over the past couple of weeks and I think this is causing my back pain to flare up now. Maybe it's the muscles tensing up I don't know but it seems to be worse when I get stressed.

• Cold Weather Now the summer has come to an end (I know, I know, what summer right?) I can feel the cold working my way into my back and making it tense up more.
• Uncomfortable chairs I still need to get myself a decent cushion!! But most chairs are uncomfortable and will cause my back pain to flare up if I sit on them too long.
• Time of the month (ladies!) for some reason my back pain gets alot worse during this time, which is odd as this never happened before surgery!
• Being on my feet too long although I know this is also a problem for people who don't even have a back condition and it's usually relieved once I sit/lie down.

I would be interested to hear from other people who have had the surgery, what do you think causes your pain and how do you tend to cope?

Zumba!

Alot of people think that after scoliosis surgery, you are unable to do alot of things that you used to do. I not only do the things I used to do, I am enjoying trying new things too!

I've recently started going to Zumba classes, I've never done Zumba before but it's alot of fun! I wasn't sure if I would be able to do Zumba after scoliosis surgery as it involves alot of jumping around and using your back and hips. 

Before surgery, I used to do aerobics quite regularly but it's only really very recently that I've felt like I'm able to do this kind of activity again, and I'm now 2 years post op. 

I have really missed doing aerobics for the past couple of years and was a bit anxious about getting back into it again as it's been so long and I was worried if I'd be able to do it - at many points during recovery I thought I'd never do it again!

I've really enjoyed the Zumba classes though. Yes, there are certain moves I can't do that involve bending the back, but I just do my own adapted version of the moves. It's still fun exercise!

I'm just eternally grateful that, after 2 years, I'm able to do these kind of activities again and I'll never take anything for granted again.

 

My Scoliosis Scar: Two Years Post op

My scoliosis scar: two years post op

Above is a photo of the top of my scoliosis scar now, at two years post op. I don't think it's very noticeable now at all, especially as my hair usually covers the top of it.

Just for comparison here is a pic of the top of my scar at about 7 weeks post op, so you can see how much it has faded!

My scoliosis scar: 7 weeks post op

Usain Bolt has Scoliosis!

I read the other day that Usain Bolt, the "fastest man in the world" has scoliosis. 

I'm not sure how bad his scoliosis is but I myself found it very inspiring that the fastest man in the world has the same condition as me as he has obviously not let his back stop him from achieving his dreams.

I found an interview with Bolt here where he discusses the importance of keeping his core and back strong, something I have been working on alot myself recently. 

I don't think I'll be sprinting anytime soon but it just goes to show that anything is possible and makes me more determined than ever to train hard at the gym and achieve everything I want to, despite my scoliosis.