I started dancing when I was 4. It eventually got to the point where I was dancing upwards of 20 hours a week. It was a big part of my life, but in 3rd grade I was diagnosed with scoliosis. It was nothing for the doctors to be concerned about at the time, but they always kept an eye on it. While I was in 6th grade a doctor has misread my x-rays and I was supposed to be braced, but they were actually six months behind on what the process should’ve been. This meant that I had to start wearing a brace at all times of the day. Typically to get “braced” your spine would have to be 30 degrees. By the time they realized I needed it my spine was already curved beyond that. I was shocked because the thought of my scoliosis getting to that point was something that had never crossed my mind. I became restricted to my brace for 20 hours a day, I had to start buying specific clothes so that it would fit under them and remain unseen. I got referred to a hospital in Philadelphia, where I would have to go to doctors’ appointments every three months. While I was there they discovered that they had misread my x-rays yet again, and the curvature of my spine was only one degree away from needing serious spinal surgery and the insertion of rods in my spine. That basically meant that one degree separated me from never being able to dance again. This whole experience was absolutely terrifying, but very eye-opening. I realized that I shouldn’t take anything for granted. During this time my family and I put everything we had into our faith over the next two-and-a-half years. Although I had worn the brace for so much of my day, I was allowed to have 4 hours of time where I would be unrestricted; I dedicated that time of every day to my dancing. During this two-year period I experienced something that most people that are diagnosed with scoliosis can’t say: the curvature of my spine slowly decreased. The doctors were simply in shock, but they were obviously pleased with the results. For my family it was just proof that our prayers were working. About a year and a half later the overall curvature had gone down from 44 degrees to 36 degrees. Due to this significant change I was then told to only wear the brace at night. That year-and-a-half to two-years of my life was definitely the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to deal with. My takeaway from this experience is that I should appreciate everything that I’m able to do because it can be taken away from me at any moment, seemingly without reason. I definitely have come to understand the feeling of what is it like to almost lose something that defines someone as a person, even if it was only for a short period of time. One last thing I would like to add from this whole experience is that I can truly do anything through Him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13 has become my favorite Bible verse because I truly think that it represents me and the plights that I have had to face in my life. If I have nothing left I know that I can rely upon my faith.
So yeah, that’s my story.