My scoliosis surgery and recovery...

After I was diagnosed with a 47° scoliosis at 10 years old, I wore a brace 24/7 for 4 years. I didn't really feel any pain at that time and my scoliosis was stable at 47° during all these years. However, once I removed my brace, my scoliosis got a little bit worse every year (+ 1 or 2 degrees/year). At age 18 it was at 60°, so I had to do the surgery or my scoliosis would have impacted my heart and lungs health on the long-term.

At 18 years old, I got the surgery done at Shriners Hospital for Children in Montreal, QC. Everything went well, I spent about 4 days after the surgery at the hospital to recover and be able to walk again. I wasn't eating that much after the surgery (my body couldn't really take it, it was already going through a lot with the surgery and medication!). I was taking morphine to relieve the pain (which made me feel weird, but I didn't feel that much pain at least!) and I was doing physiotherapy exercises to be able to walk and move as soon as possible. The surgery took about 5h to complete and now my spine is at almost 0° (approximately 10°). It's a spinal fusion, so I have metal rods attached to my spine with screws and hooks to hold it in place. They will stay here for the rest of my life! I don't really feel them in my back, but we can feel them by touch.

When I got back home, recovery was very gradual. During the first few weeks after the surgery I had almost no flexibility (I was feeling very stiff, ex: bending to get in the car was challenging!). I was doing small exercises I found on Youtube to help me stay active and I was taking very small walks. I would say that after a month I was starting to feel more "normal" (taking longer walks, having more flexibility, swimming). It took me a few weeks/months to be able to bike again, run and find all my flexibility back.

1 year after my surgery, I was able to do everything normally. I did my surgery during the summer, so it didn't affect my studies and I was able to go back to school normally (the only difference was I had to make sure my bag wasn't too heavy!).

2 years after my surgery, I had the most amazing experience! Since I used morphine after my surgery, I was asked to participate in a research on opioids, which led me to be a youth leader in a summit with other youths from Canada. This then led me to participate in a Youth Forum at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes in Vienna to discuss substance use prevention with inspiring youths from all around the world! We learned about science-based prevention and developed a statement that we delivered to the delegates of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. This goes to show that great things can happen unexpectedly at any time, even after a surgery!

3 years after my surgery, I am more than recovered! I can do all my activities like before (yoga, dance, ice skating, bike, etc.) and I love challenging my flexibility by trying different yoga poses, but always listening to my body and respecting my limits of course! This surgery made me realize how much our body does for us and mostly, the chance we have to be able to move! The only things I can't do for the rest of my life are a bungee jump and skydiving (the shock of the jump could move the metal in my back).

I hope my story can help some of you who are going through the same thing. I know how stressful it can be thinking about undergoing surgery, mostly when we don't really know what to expect! If you want to talk about it, don't hesitate to contact me! Also, don't forget that everyone's story is different. We all deal with it differently, but our biggest power is to believe it will all go well and to stay positive!

CONTACT (if you have questions or just want to chat!)
Instagram:   / mayanujaim  
Email: [email protected]
Messenger: Maya Nujaim

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