tonibunny
7th April 2005, 12:46 AM
Hi everyone,
I thought I'd post some pics of myself as child, so you can see what my scoliosis was like when I was younger, and how brilliantly it has been treated :D
I was diagnosed way back in 1976 at the age of 6 months, with a double curve of about 62 degrees (thoracic) and 40 degrees (lumbar). I wore plaster casts and Milwaukee braces which held the curves until I was ten, when the top curve began to deteriorate rapidly.
I had my first fusion in January 1986, aged ten. By that time my top curve was 76 degrees. My surgeon Mr Edgar (one of the Ul's top scoli specialists, and a friend and colleague of Miss Mehta's) had predicted that I would need surgery around this age way back when I was about 5! I was fused from T1 - T12 with a Harrington Rod.
Following that surgery I wore a plast cast for six months to protect the fusion, then went brace-free for the next eight years. By the time I was 17 my lumbar curve had also started to deteriorate up to 55 degrees, so I had my fusion extended down to L3. Mr Edgar replaced the original Harrington with a longer one, and also inserted Zielke instrumentation. Again, I wore a Boston brace for six months to protect the fusion, and I've been brace/cast free ever since :D
I had a costoplasty done when I was 18, and another done four years ago in 2001. I *think* I had one done when I was ten, too....but I am not sure about that.
My curves are now stable at about 47 degrees / 37 degrees (give or take 5 degrees, I've had varying measurements but that's to be expected)
Anyway, here are pictures!
Here's me aged 5 (I'm the blonde!), with a smallish rib hump:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/tonibunny/holiday_toni_bigger.jpg
Me on my 7th birthday....:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/tonibunny/toni_7th_bday_slife.jpg
This is my sister and me aged about 7 or 8, in my Milwaukee. It came out quite far at the back because it had to fit round my rib hump....most Milwaukees don't tend to come out that far.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/tonibunny/toni_milwaukee.jpg
This is me aged ten, five months before my first surgery. As you can see, I had a noticeable rib hump by then. My mother used to dress me in awful tent like dresses in an attempt to cover it up.....note to mothers: this doesn't work! :D
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/tonibunny/show.gif
Finally, this picture was taken last year, and shows how very successful my treatment has been. No-one really notices that I've got anything wrong with my back and I am confident enough to wear low backed dresses like this one!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/tonibunny/costoplasty.gif
I thought I'd post some pics of myself as child, so you can see what my scoliosis was like when I was younger, and how brilliantly it has been treated :D
I was diagnosed way back in 1976 at the age of 6 months, with a double curve of about 62 degrees (thoracic) and 40 degrees (lumbar). I wore plaster casts and Milwaukee braces which held the curves until I was ten, when the top curve began to deteriorate rapidly.
I had my first fusion in January 1986, aged ten. By that time my top curve was 76 degrees. My surgeon Mr Edgar (one of the Ul's top scoli specialists, and a friend and colleague of Miss Mehta's) had predicted that I would need surgery around this age way back when I was about 5! I was fused from T1 - T12 with a Harrington Rod.
Following that surgery I wore a plast cast for six months to protect the fusion, then went brace-free for the next eight years. By the time I was 17 my lumbar curve had also started to deteriorate up to 55 degrees, so I had my fusion extended down to L3. Mr Edgar replaced the original Harrington with a longer one, and also inserted Zielke instrumentation. Again, I wore a Boston brace for six months to protect the fusion, and I've been brace/cast free ever since :D
I had a costoplasty done when I was 18, and another done four years ago in 2001. I *think* I had one done when I was ten, too....but I am not sure about that.
My curves are now stable at about 47 degrees / 37 degrees (give or take 5 degrees, I've had varying measurements but that's to be expected)
Anyway, here are pictures!
Here's me aged 5 (I'm the blonde!), with a smallish rib hump:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/tonibunny/holiday_toni_bigger.jpg
Me on my 7th birthday....:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/tonibunny/toni_7th_bday_slife.jpg
This is my sister and me aged about 7 or 8, in my Milwaukee. It came out quite far at the back because it had to fit round my rib hump....most Milwaukees don't tend to come out that far.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/tonibunny/toni_milwaukee.jpg
This is me aged ten, five months before my first surgery. As you can see, I had a noticeable rib hump by then. My mother used to dress me in awful tent like dresses in an attempt to cover it up.....note to mothers: this doesn't work! :D
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/tonibunny/show.gif
Finally, this picture was taken last year, and shows how very successful my treatment has been. No-one really notices that I've got anything wrong with my back and I am confident enough to wear low backed dresses like this one!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/tonibunny/costoplasty.gif