I first developed scoliosis when I was thirteen years old. Over a period of about three years the curvature got worse. When I was sixteen going on seventeen (Dec. 1991) I had surgery at Shriner's. By then my curvature was about 56 degrees. My surgery experience didn't go so well. I made it through the surgery all right but a week after I was home from the hospital the titanium rod that the doctors put in my back literally busted out of place in my back. Over the next couple of weeks the rod rubbed a hole right through my back.
In February 1992 I had two more surgeries. The reason I has surgery number two was to replace all the old rods, pins, hooks, ect. And install new ones. During my hospital stay after surgery number two the rods busted out of place again. Two weeks later I was given surgery number three. This time the doctors sawed off half of the rods. Some of those rods were almost as long as my whole back. By this time I can say I was feeling very, very tired.
About a month after that I had yet another surgery. Surgery number four. This ended up being my final surgery. The purpose of this surgery was to remove all the hardware, (rods, pins, hooks, ect..) The doctors wanted to give me another surgery and try a different type of rods but my mother refused and we decided I had had enough.
During my surgery number one the doctors fused my whole thoracic spine. They tried to straighten up my spine but they weren't very successful. My 56-degree curvature was now a 32-degree curve. During surgery number two some of my spinal correction was lost. My 32-degree curve was now a 43-degree curve. The doctors always emphasized the importance of my fusions "taking". They actually wanted to refuse my spine again if they did not "take" completely. My fusions ended up 'taking" very well. Little did I know at the time but my fusions were actually my enemy.
Over the years I have had a lot of pain, a lot of frustration , but now I can say I feel a lot better. After my first adjustment I noticed that certain pains in my back were gone. My low back pain disappeared!! Over time I noticed that my health had improved in many ways. I used to get sinus infections all the time and after starting Chiropractic I have not had one infection. I have a lot more energy too. A while back new x-rays were taken of my spine. The x-rays showed that the curve had become fifty percent straighter . I highly recommend people to try Chiropractic first!!!
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