My scoliosis won’t stop me

I was three when I started to develop Scoliosis, which is a curvature of the spine. My spine began to bend into an 'S' shape and eventually twisted round my ribs. This has made me have a slight hump. It was unusual for me to develop it at such a young age because it normally starts to affect people when they hit puberty.

When I was younger I used to get picked on because of my disease, but since I've had to live with it for so long it doesn't really affect my life that much anymore. The only thing I can't do is run and sometimes I'm unsteady on my feet. Stairs can also be a problem, but if there's a handrail then I can normally cope.

“I ended up missing a whole year of school”

Lucy

I had started my GCSEs in school when I had to go into hospital to have an operation on my spine. I'd always known that I would need the operation to have longer rods put in my back so I wasn't too bothered, but things didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped.

Complications in Hospital

Originally I was only going to be in hospital for two weeks, but because my spine was more twisted than the doctors thought I had to be in traction for five weeks. Then I got a wound infection and ended up spending another ten weeks in hospital.

I wasn't in much pain but recovery was slow and I ended up missing a whole year of school, so when I was 16 I went back and started my GCSEs again. This is why I'm older than the rest of my class. It wasn't all bad though, being in hospital that long meant that I met people with similar conditions and made some new friends.

The Drama Queen

I started drama lessons when I was in secondary school and found I had a talent for acting. Since then my passion for the stage has grown.

In my spare time I write scripts or ideas for scripts. I spent a year being a member of a local amateur dramatics group and I appeared in three shows at the local theatre. My favourite type of show is comedies because it gives me such a buzz when the audience laugh. I just love being on stage and entertaining people, so I wasn't going to let my Scoliosis stop me from realising my dream. After my GCSE's I enrolled in a college course to help me do this.

A Little Bit of Help

After my recovery I was lucky enough to get an ALG (Adult Learning Grant) to help me when I got to college. It's helped me a lot because it gives me more freedom and some control over my life, rather than having to depend on other people.

Without the financial support from the ALG I wouldn't be able to do my course and would have to find a job in something I don't want to do. I'm just finishing my first year now and am planning to carry on with the second year in September.

I'm so glad that my Scoliosis hasn't stopped me following my dream, so don't be surprised in a couple of years when you see me tearing it up on stage!

Update: It's one year on and I'm now off to study BA(Hons) Drama at university. Hurrah!