Happy Anniversary to Me!

Today is a kind of bittersweet and very nostalgic day. Exactly one year ago, on March 25, 2009, I underwent 14 hours of spine surgery to correct my scoliosis. I will forever now have 12 vertebrae fused together, and two foot-long chrome rods and 23 screws attached to my spine. Still makes me cringe to think about! Kind of cool, too... =)

I remember the morning of my surgery as if it were yesterday, and how much I was FREAKING OUT about going paralyzed, blind, or even never waking up. So, it’s weird to think I was experiencing all of those crazy waves of emotions exactly 365 days ago! Honestly, not a single day has gone by where I don’t think about my back and everything I have gone through – not only on that day, but for the weeks and long months that followed. This surgery was truly life-changing (some parts good, some parts bad! Good? Having perfect posture all the time. Bad? Not snowboarding for a year and countless movement limitations). For example, imagine, from the base of your neck to about waist-level, having a back that doesn’t flex, extend, bend, twist, or articulate in any way…and then add in the extra couple of pounds of metal in there….and that’s what I experience on a regular basis. The recovery was by far the hardest thing I’d ever gone through in my life (couldn’t have done it w/out my wonderful family and boyfriend and friends!), and I don’t think I ever realized how much a person’s spine affects the body in so many ways. But, as cheesy as it sounds, I would do it all over again…because I am now a million times stronger than I ever was. Not only do I have an impressive pain tolerance these days, but because I was SO motivated to get my strength back post-surgery, I’ve been working out more than ever before and I am currently in the process of becoming certified to teach pilates so I can show others the benefits. Today, I feel happy, grateful, relieved and bionic! =)