People Magazine caught my attention

I was flipping through a People magazine one day, and I came across an ad for the Baylor Scoliosis Center. Whoa! I didn't even know this place existed. It had a woman on there, and her before and after x-rays, after having the surgery to correct the scoliosis.

Let me just say that I was adamant that I was NOT going to ever have this surgery, I was just going to live with it and be in pain for the rest of my life. I had heard too many horror stories about the Harrington Rods and things like that. But seeing this ad, it was like a wake-up call, and I tore it out, and saved it, and every once in a while I would look at it. Thinking, "should I call??"

One day I finally called. The receptionist there was very helpful and answered all my questions, and they sent me a DVD on what their center does and what people they have helped. It had three patients give their personal testimonies. So I got the DVD in the mail. I told my husband, Gary, that I could NOT watch it alone. I am glad he watched it with me, because I cried the entire time. On this DVD, there were women, just like me, who talked about what it was like to be in excruciating pain ALL THE TIME. Things that people don't think should hurt, like, washing dishes, walking around the mall, taking care of your kids, anything like that. I mean, all these years that I have dealt with this, I *knew* there were other people who were inflicted with this, but to actually see them talk about it, was way overwhelming! So yeah, I cried like a baby.

So I was like, Ok, I am gonna look into this. The way that they talked on the DVD, it made me wish I could have the surgery at that very moment. That is how much it moved me. It was like a dark cloud above me had some sun shining through...like maybe there was a way out of this!!

I called the very next day, and said I want to come in and get my back fixed too, how soon can you see me. My appointment was scheduled for April 23, 2008 in Plano, Texas.

My husband and I went, we made a little vacation out of it, it was very nice and stuff. The morning of our appointment, I was so nervous. I felt like I did all those times that I had to go to Ft. Worth as a child. I really wanted my mother there with me, to reassure me that I was going to be ok. But it was just Gary and I.

I walk in, and it is by far, the nicest doctors office I had ever been in. I am not just talking about the appearance of it either, it was everything. The receptionist was welcoming, the nurse that helped me was funny and eased my nerves with her jokes and candor. So it comes time to weigh in and check my height. I am now 5'5"! Ok, that is all fine and dandy except for the fact that I used to be 5'7". So I knew right then before they even did the x-rays that the curves had gotten really bad. I won't say how much I weighed (haha).

We do the x-rays, and usually the only way I've done x-rays was to stand up and they take a picture and that is it. Not here. They had me stand up, stand sideways, lie on my back, and on my stomach. They took x-rays from every possible angle. We go back into the room, and the PA, Eric, comes in and we start the examination and he starts asking me questions and stuff. He then tells us to come in to this other room so we can view the x-rays. Seeing them always puts me in a gloomy mood. So yeah, I am all depressed now, and then he tells me that the curves were measuring 65 on top and 63 on bottom. Wow! I was not expecting that. So then I started to cry.

We go back in the room and we discuss our options. Which inevitably would be surgery. He told me that if I don't do something about this, the curves will progress, and my rib cage will continue to collapse in on itself. I told him, Yes, I want to do the surgery. I am tired of the pain and I do not want to rely on taking pain pills for the rest of my life. I am only 27! What kind of shape would I be at 40 years old, if I even made it that far, if I didn't do something.

Dr. Shelokov doesn't like to do surgery on patients who have kids younger than 2 1/2 due to having to pick the child up and stuff. So that put me at June 19, 2009. Then I thought, well I will do it in September, because by then, Kaci will be in school and it will make it easier on everyone.

So I go back in October for another follow up and we go from there.