成年人脊柱侧凸还能改善吗（重度脊柱侧凸让我与众不同）

成年人脊柱侧凸还能改善吗（重度脊柱侧凸让我与众不同）Just one and a half months after my surgery I flew to New York City to attend my brother’s graduation. New York is my favorite place in the entire world and when I stepped foot in the concrete jungle I had completely forgotten that I had been lying in a hospital bed just weeks prior. I was already climbing flights of stairs in the Subway walking through Central Park and experiencing life to t

Valerie Chapman

MY JOURNEY WITH SEVERE SCOLIOSIS

I was thirteen when I was diagnosed with severe scoliosis. Wearing a brace wasn’t even an option for me. The only thing I could do was have surgery and I’ll never forget what it felt like when I discovered that this would be the only way to fix my condition.

在我十三岁时被诊断患有严重的脊柱侧凸。当时已经无法选择佩戴矫形支具进行治疗，我唯一能做的就是进行手术，我永远无法忘记当我发现这是解决我病情的唯一方法时的那种感受。

I had been complaining about my back pain for a few months but it wasn’t until my grandma was rubbing my back that we noticed an incredible hump around my lower back. I’ve always been long and lanky but my body had never been something that I was self-conscious about. Now I had a hump in my back and I’d noticed that my waist was no longer symmetrical. We were clueless. We had no idea what was wrong with me. I was terrified and I was worried. I felt like I had some unknown disease but I also had this feeling of hope. I knew that whatever it was I would be okay.

几个月来，我一直在抱怨背痛，但直到奶奶帮我按摩背部的时候，才注意到我的下背部有一个难以置信的隆起。那时我又高又瘦，但是渐渐地我感觉我的身体变得有些失控。现在我背上有个驼峰，我注意到我的腰不再对称，对此我们一无所知，不知道我怎么了，我很害怕，也很担心。我觉得我患上了某种未知的疾病，但我也对此抱着未知的希望。我知道无论怎样，我都会没事的。

The s-shaped curve became apparent in less than six months a rare case never seen by my pediatrician before; that is until I came into the doctor’s office the following day to find out what was wrong with me. I didn’t know what to expect. My pediatrician referred me to an orthopedic surgeon a little miracle worker named Dr. Shufflebarger at Miami Children’s Hospital.

不到六个月的时间，s形曲线变得越发明显，这是我的儿科医生以前从未见过的罕见病例。直到第二天我走进医生的办公室，才懂得自己有了什么问题。我不知道会发生什么，我的儿科医生给我介绍了一位在迈阿密儿童医院从事这方面研究小有名气的骨科医生，名叫舒弗勒巴格尔。

On April 2nd 2013 one week after spring break I had spinal fusion surgery. I spent seven days in the hospital and missed a month of my last year of middle school in order to recover. Recovery was the hardest part of my journey with scoliosis. Being forced to leave all of my responsibilities behind drove me crazy! I went from always being productive to feeling helpless and being homeschooled from my bed. The recovery process didn’t allow me to go on rollercoasters for a year so I missed out on memories with my graduating class when they went on their trip to a theme park but I returned to school in May and delivered the class speech at my 8th grade graduation as previously planned. This was the first time after surgery that I realized that even though I had sacrificed being my usual active self it was all going to be worth it. I would be healthy again and for that I felt blessed.

2013年4月2日，春假一周后，我做了脊柱融合手术。为了康复，我在医院住了七天，错过了中学最后一年的一个月。康复是我脊柱侧凸旅途中最艰难的部分。被迫放弃我所有的学业让我有些发疯，从前那个富有活力的我，如今变得如此无助，只能躺在家中的床上学习。一年的恢复过程，不允许我坐过山车，所以我错过了毕业班去主题公园旅行的宝贵记忆，但我在五月回到了学校，按照之前的计划在八年级毕业典礼上如约发表了演讲。手术后，这是我第一次意识到，尽管我牺牲了平时那个积极好动的自我，但这一切都是值得的。我会再次健康，为此我感到幸福。

Just one and a half months after my surgery I flew to New York City to attend my brother’s graduation. New York is my favorite place in the entire world and when I stepped foot in the concrete jungle I had completely forgotten that I had been lying in a hospital bed just weeks prior. I was already climbing flights of stairs in the Subway walking through Central Park and experiencing life to the fullest again. I’ve always known that New York was a magical city but this was when I truly realized it. I still felt pain but nowhere near the pain I had felt prior to the surgery. I know that the recovery process is different for everyone and it’s hard but if I could do it then so can you!

手术后仅仅一个半月，我便飞到纽约参加我哥哥的毕业典礼。纽约是我在全世界最喜欢的地方，当我踏上这片水泥丛林时，我完全忘记了几周前我还躺在病床上。如今的我，已经可以在地铁里爬楼梯，穿过中央公园，再次体验美好的生活。我一直知道纽约是一个神奇的城市，但此刻才是我真正感知到的时候。现在我仍然感到疼痛，但远不及手术前的疼痛，我知道恢复过程对每个人而言都是不一样的，这很难，但如果我能做到，你也能做到！

It’s been over two years since my surgery. As of now I’ve ridden tons of rollercoasters and been to New York City several more times. I’ve begun learning how to code was elected Vice President of my high school class became a part of my school’s badminton and bowling teams and participated in all other “normal” teenage things. I’m even the founder & CEO of my own business! This surgery has made me more confident than ever! I’ve learned to embrace all of my imperfections because they’re a part of who I am. Scoliosis is part of who I am but I won’t let it define me. Don’t let scoliosis stop you from following your dreams. I didn’t. At just sixteen years old I’m currently signed with two famous modeling agencies in New York & Miami. I had dreamt of becoming a model since I was eight years old. Who knew being long and lanky would come in handy? I have a nine inch scar along the middle of my back and honestly I think it’s pretty cool! It sets me apart from everyone else.

我手术已经两年多了。到目前为止，我已经坐了无数次过山车，还去过纽约几次。我已经开始学习如何编程，被选为高中学生会副主席，成为学校羽毛球和保龄球队的一员，并参加了所有其他“正常”的青少年活动。我甚至是我自己企业的创始人兼CEO！这次手术让我比以往任何时候都变得更加自信！我已经学会接受自己所有的不完美，因为它们是我的一部分。脊柱侧凸是我的一部分，但我不会让它定义我，不要让脊柱侧凸阻止自己追逐梦想的步伐。年仅16岁的我，已经与纽约和迈阿密的两家著名模特经纪公司签约。我从八岁起就梦想成为一名模特，谁知道又高又瘦居然也会派上用场？我后背中间有一个9英寸的伤疤，老实说，我觉得这很酷！它让我与众不同。

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about working in the fashion industry it’s that being unique gets you far. Makeup can cover up these imperfections but if makeup didn’t exist I’d still be proud to walk the runways with my scar totally exposed. Beauty isn’t about looking perfect. It’s about being confident. Believe it or not my epic journey with scoliosis gave me an incredible sense of pride. To help others feel the same sense of pride I also created a fashion and lifestyle blog where I write about my personal experiences in the industry and the obstacles I’ve had to overcome.

如果说我在时尚界工作学到了什么，那就是独特能让你走得更远。化妆品可以掩盖这些瑕疵，但是即使化妆品不存在，即使我的伤疤将被完全暴露出来，我都仍然会自豪地奔跑在人生的赛道上，因为真正的美丽不仅仅是看起来完美那样简单。这是一个关于自信的信仰，信不信由你，我的脊柱侧凸是一段如史诗般的旅程，它赋予了我一种难以置信的自豪感。为了帮助其他人感受到同样的自豪感，我还创建了一个关于时尚和生活方式的博客，在博客中我分享了自己在这个行业的个人经历以及我必须克服的种种障碍。

I have so many more goals that I’m working hard to accomplish every single day. I never stopped believing in my dreams not even when the doctor diagnosed me with severe scoliosis. As a result of my abrupt scoliosis my pediatrician now gives scoliosis check-ups every three months instead of every six months. It feels pretty great knowing that my case now prevents other kids from going through this little bump in the road.

我有如此多的目标，我每天都在努力实现着它们。我从未停止相信我的梦想，即使医生诊断我患有严重的脊柱侧凸。由于我没有及早发现脊柱侧凸，我的儿科医生将以往的每六个月改为现在的每三个月就会进行一次脊柱侧凸筛查。得知通过我的案例能够帮助到其他孩子尽早发现这种疾病，感觉真好。

I feel so blessed to have had such an incredible support system throughout this entire process. Having family and friends by my side played a huge role during my recovery. I’m so thankful for my doctor nurses and the caring staff at Miami Children’s Hospital for giving me another chance to feel confident with my body. I truly believe that the most important thing you can do during times like these is value yourself believe in your worth and know that one day all your dreams can become a reality. Don’t be scared to face scoliosis and don’t be scared to follow your dreams. You can get through this! No medical condition such as scoliosis should ever stop you from achieving greatness!

在整个治疗的过程中有这样一个不可思议的支持系统，使我感到非常幸运。家人和朋友在我身边对我的康复起到了巨大的作用。我非常感谢我的医生、护士和迈阿密儿童医院的护理人员，他们给了我另一次机会，使我对自己的身体感到自信。我真的相信，在这种时候，你能做的最重要的事情就是珍惜自己，相信自己的价值，并且知道有一天你所有的梦想都会变成现实。不要害怕面对脊柱侧凸，也不要害怕追逐梦想，你能挺过去的！无论何种疾病，如脊柱侧凸，都不应该阻止你实现伟大！

When my grandma first found the hump in my back I knew that in the end I would be okay. In reality I was better than okay. I was able to overcome more obstacles than most teens my age. The journey is part of who I am now and I am proud of that person. Not many people know that I went through this but it’s something I’m proudly sharing with you because I know that you can get through it too!

当奶奶第一次发现我背上的驼峰时，我知道，最终我会没事的。事实上，我比自己想象的还要好，与我的同龄人相比，我能够克服更多的障碍。这段旅程只是我人生的一部分，我为自己感到骄傲。没有多少人知道我经历过这些，但我很自豪地与你分享，因为我知道你也能经历这些！

英文来源：Setting Scoliosis Straight Foundation