Let’s Talk Scoliosis

A post shared by Kenna & Lulu (@kennaandlulu) on Apr 7, 2017 at 7:39pm PDT

Kenna here! You ready? Cool. Let’s talk scoliosis. 

(I’ll do an FAQ at the end, so keep yer eyes peeled!)

But before we get into that… a bit of housekeeping: I am MOST DEFINETLY NOT a doctor, I probably will never be a doctor, and I don’t play one on TV. But three years ago, I did have spinal fusion surgery to mend my scoliosis, so let’s just say that I’m a scoliosis ninja master. *shrugs*

Everything in this post is purely my story. If you have scoliosis or know someone who does, think of this as a chat that we’re having over brunch, not as a doctor’s opinion.

My Story (or at least the bite size version)

It all started with me having circulation issues, and eventually after one heck of a ride through countless doctors, tests, and hospital stays, I was eventually diagnosed with acute scoliosis. With a 39-degree curve as my trophy, the idea of spinal fusion surgery started becoming a possible treatment option.

From the first appointment with my stellar orthopedic surgeon, I was exstatic about the idea of beating this scoliosis with surgery. Right as my doctor began pointing out the severity of my curve, I accidentally knocked the decor off his office wall because I was that excited to: 

1. finally have a sure diagnosis and

2. get my recovery rolling.

I am so thankful that I was this excited right out of the gate. Because to tell you the truth, the three months following that appointment were pretty rough. From the two months waiting for my surgery date to the month in recovery, each stage presented its own set of struggles.

Fun fact: it was actually a HUGE blessing that we committed to surgery so early in the game because as the next two moths came and went, my curve worsened by leaps and bounds. In my case, spinal fusion surgery eventually became my best option.

Thanks to amazing physicians, quite a bit of hardware (2 rods, 19 screws, and a bar, but who’s counting :D) three hours in surgery, and more prayers than heaven can count, my scoliosis was GONE!! However, to say that everything from then on was nothing but lollipops and unicorns would not be the truth. Recovery was pretty brutal. There were moments when I felt frutrated with my situation, but there were also times when I truly felt angels standing in my little hospital room.

This was also the time when our amazing mom brought up the idea of starting a blog. We were over the moon about the prospect, so while I was recovering, Lulu and I set up our website, and made planns for the launch of “Kenna & Lulu”.

I am so thankful that I said yes to spinal fusion surgery. While it is most definetly not the right answer for everyone, it changed my life for the better in too many ways to count. 

FAQ

Q. Do you set off any alarms when you go through airport security?

A. Nope! My hardwear is titanium so I’m all set!

Q. Can you touch your toes?

A. Unfortunatly no. But I couldn’t before I even had scoliosis so I think it’s just me lacking in the flexability department.

Q. Did you grow in surgery?

A. Absolutly!!! A whole two inches to be exact! Don’t tell Lulu that I said this, but I went in shorter than her, and came out a whole inch taller. MUA HA HA HA HA! 

Q. Have you had any complications post surgery?

A. So far, not one! To tell you the truth, I hardly ever think about my surgery anymore – I can do everything that I could do before surgery and more!!

If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to shout ’em out in the comments!

XOXO -Kenna

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