One shot mood. =]
A little bit longer
Hmm. I’m going to try something new.
My name is Katie, (g*money). & I’m 17.
And this is a true story; about my journey with scoliosis.
Written based on the song A little Bit Longer.
Well, here we go..
It was the summer of 2002, and I was your average 12 year old. I didn’t have a care in the world, I never had a good hair day, I didn’t have boy problems, and I didn’t worry about what people would think of me. I was walking out of church Saturday evening, about 6 pm. My mom, sister brother and I went to church each and every week, meeting my grandparents, aunt and little cousins. I was wearing a spaghetti strap tank top, while walking ahead of the group. Now I was a bony little kid, I was tall and skinny. But my grandma was the first to notice. “ Bonnie, has Kate’s shoulder blade always stuck out like that?” That was all she had to say. Mention it, bring it to my mom’s attention. My mom got worried, not knowing why it was like that, therefore, making me a nervous wreck.
Got the news today
But they said I had to stay
A little bit longer
And I'll be fine
When I thought it'd all be done
When I thought it'd all been said
A little bit longer
And I'll be fine
About a week later, my shoulder blade, the right side to be more specific, was still sticking out further then the left. My parents took me to my pediatrician, who officially diagnosed me with scoliosis. Scoliosis, by definition, is a curvature of the spinal cord. I’ve never been so freaked out in my life. The words “crooked spine” came out of his mouth, and my mouth dropped. Unfortunately, my pediatrician was only there to diagnose the problem, not treat it. Which allowed us to take a step forward, but not a big one. We only knew that I had scoliosis, we still didn’t know what to do about it.
The following day, we went to get my first full back x ray. My spine, was literally shaped like an S. Now that we had the x ray, it was time to find a doctor. We went to this local doctor who we heard about from a friend, so we went to check it out. He started me with physical therapy, where some guy would like literally stretch me. It was really weird, but I figured, hey, they’re the doctors.
But you don't know what you got till it's gone
And you don't know what it's like to feel so low
And every time you smile
You laugh, you glow
You don't even know, no, no
You don't even know
After about a week of therapy, we did some research on the fabulous internet, and came to the shocking conclusion that therapy just wasn’t going to cut it. So we were on yet another hunt for yet another doctor. This time we found a notable doctor that had a main office in new york city, and came to Brooklyn new york on Tuesday. So we went to see him and he told me that my curves were to sever for therapy. I must’ve been dumb, because I thought that, well that was that, we go to a few sessions of therapy, and I’ll be fine. But no. he said that I needed to wear the full back brace, if I wanted to avoid surgery. My curves measured out to 23 degrees on the bottom and 30 degrees on the top. Low enough to avoid surgery, but big enough that I needed the brace to try and fix it.
The week after first meeting the doctor and being fitted for my first brace. Now my confidence level has never been very good and it still isn’t, to be perfectly honest. But when I put this brace on and strapped it all up, I just wanted to cry. This was totally not fitting over my favorite jeans and tee shirts. What was I going to do? Everyone’s going to stare and make fun of me for looking like a box.
For the next year and a half, my self esteem, and self confidence, was at an all time low.
All this time goes by
Still no reason why
A little bit longer
And I'll be fine
Waiting on a cure
But none of them are sure
A little bit longer
And I'll be fine
I wore my back brace, the full 18 hours from 7th grade till the middle of 8th grade. I stopped wearing it to school in 8th grade, because I was just that bad. I needed to at least feel that I looked okay on the outside even though I was far from it on the inside. In 8th grade, I got my braces off, and I learned how to use a flat iron, but still I only felt like a girl from the neck up. I was still the girl wearing big tees and sweat pants. So I ditched the brace during school, and I was able to wear my cute little outfits.
The high school came around…. Wearing the brace to school was the last thing on my mind. So I didn’t. I was your typical teenager, hanging out every weekend. I just put a back brace on before I went to bed.
I often asked myself; why me? Like, no one else in my family had it, so why did I have to get the disease that effected you physically? The disease that doctors didn’t know why you got it.
Skipping some. La la la
So I'll wait till kingdom come
All the highs and lows are gone
A little bit longer
And I'll be fine
I'll be fine
6 years later, I’m 17, I’m 5`9, and I stopped wearing my brace all together, about a year ago. I went to the doctor ,for what I was hoping to be my last time, about a month ago. Unfortunately I didn’t hear what I wanted. I thought I was all finished, that that would be my last visit. But, I was wrong. My since I stopped wearing my brace, my curves progressed, nothing major, like I don’t need surgery, but just the fact that it progressed was a huge let down. I remember sitting in the waiting room and playing this amazing song and I just kept telling myself; a little bit longer, and I’ll be fine.”
