Scoliosis Interview

================|INTERVIEW|================

Q: When does scoliosis begin?

A: Usually, either you’re born with it, or you get it when you’re growing up. My scoliosis began when I was seven, which is the common age to get scoliosis for everyone else at this period of age. There are a few stages to scoliosis, during which it slowly progresses, I had third stage in eighth grade.

Q: What symptoms did you have when you were experiencing scoliosis?

A: You sit at your desk in a crooked manner.

Q: How is scoliosis diagnosed?

A: When a person stands normally, one of his shoulders may be higher than the other shoulder, and this can be literally a few millimeters. A normal person wouldn’t be able to notice it, but a specialist would. Usually, the easiest way to check for scoliosis is to stand a person straight, make him hang his arms, make him stand straight, and not barefoot. Then you watch for the cavity between the waist and the arm. For example, if a person doesn’t have scoliosis, the distance between the arm and the waistline will be the same on both sides. That’s why it’s so easy to tell when a person has scoliosis. Scoliosis becomes dangerous when you are twenty-five or so, because pain begins, rapid breathing, etc., and the spine looses some of its flexibility. They also did X-rays to check for spinal deformities. In addition, they could use this other method: the person bends over, so all of his/her vertebrae are visible, and the doctor circles these protruding vertebrae with a pen, and when the person stands up, the drawing of the spine shows if it’s straight, or curved.

Q: Did you have any pains when you were experiencing scoliosis?

A: No.

Q: Did experiencing scoliosis have any effect on your daily life?

A: The curing did, because I had to go to a specialized school, where I had to learn and do work while being in a laying down position. We were in these special plaster beds, and we didn’t sit in front of desks, but we lied on special couches that had triangular props so that you could look at the black board with ease. This way all of the stress on the spine is removed, thus retarding the progression. However, after I got out of this special school, my classmates did not treat me badly. In fact, they were jealous because I had a special slip so I could skip kolkhoz trips when I felt like it.

Q: Are there any new ways being developed to treat scoliosis?

A: When I was being treated, some surgeries in Russia went as follows: they cut the back open, then they take rods about 2.5cm by 4mm by 20cm, and they bolt it to your spine. Afterwards, you go back to the surgery place, and they remove them. Then you have to lie in bed for half a year. It’s really quite awful.

Q: How expensive was having scoliosis during your treatment?

A: It was free, aside from the gas my mom had to buy for her car when going to the special school.

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