Sophie Dunnett shares her experience of living with scoliosis, the challenges and the process of life-changing surgery. An inspirational blog demonstrating the true power of resilience, grit and how one’s personal story can shape your own quest to pursue a career in medicine.
Life often faces us with unexpected challenges. For me, my biggest challenge so far, was my diagnosis of severe scoliosis and the journey that followed. Scoliosis is a musculoskeletal condition characterised by an abnormal curvature of the spine. It affects millions of individuals worldwide – roughly 2-3% and then out of that 10% have major spinal fusion surgery.
The diagnosis itself was tough however, it was then having to decide on what to do next which I found even worse. I had 2 options, either to have life-altering spinal fusion surgery (in which my spine would be fused with 2 titanium rods and screws) or to leave it and do nothing. Without surgery, I was told that my scoliosis curve would deteriorate over time. I went with the option of surgery.
Fast forward to June 2023, the month of my surgery. Walking into Edinburgh Children’s hospital for the pre-op day knowing that the next time I would be here I would be having surgery was very overwhelming. Sat in my own room being informed of the outline of the day seeing a range of different professions from the physiotherapists to the pain management team. The multidisciplinary team consisted of many different professions, each held equal importance with diverse expertise. They co-ordinated their care so that I was in no way confused about what my treatment plan was. Seeing the anaesthetist was tremendously helpful. I was feeling more apprehensive about being anaesthetised than getting metal rods in my back and being able to talk about any concerns I had helped me relax more for surgery. Seeing the surgeon himself was good, he reinforced what was going to happen in the operating theatre and what the road to recovery looks like. Managing to explain multiple stressful factors but somehow managing to keep me calm is a skill I truly hope to gain.
The day of the operation itself is something that I have very little memory of. One thing I do remember was the nerves walking into the hospital feeling fit and healthy knowing that when I would leave, I would be in discomfort and unable to do anywhere near as much as what I could do before. The following few days post-op were tough, nothing like I had ever experienced before. The pain, sleepless nights, emotions, and being away from home all added up. However, with the help of Edinburgh’s hospital children’s charity, they managed to help me take my mind elsewhere from the pain I was in playing games and completing other tasks. Each morning would begin with a ward round which were multidisciplinary and, by working effectively, they achieved the best outcome for me allowing me to be discharged after 5 days.
Now being over 4 months post-op, I feel strong and have no regrets about getting the surgery. Although I am still restricted as to what I can do I still can take part in activities I did previously. For example, I can no longer play hockey until I am a year post-op and I have instead taken on coaching younger children. This overall experience has inspired me to pursue a career in medicine and developed a sense of resilience within me. Being a patient for major surgery has given me a unique insight as to how satisfying the role can be.
