Ava
When I was about ten, I started noticing that
something was different about me. I wasn’t as tall
as other people, and my body was shifting to one
side. I didn’t know if that was normal, so I went to
my mom and I asked her. She said, “No, it isn’t. I
have to tell you something.”
My parents have known since I was a baby that
my spine was curved, and that when I got older
and stopped growing, I would need it corrected.
So a few years ago, when I was fourteen, I had
surgery. Doctors cut into my back and attached
two metal rods, one on each side of my spine, to
support it. The rods start at my tailbone and go
all the way to the middle of my back. If you touch
my back, you can feel them.
I was happy the surgery was over, but it hurt
a ton. Before, I had been a little uncomfort-
able, but I usually didn’t pay much attention to
it. Afterward, it felt like someone was stabbing
me in the back with a needle, constantly. I work
with a physical therapist and do yoga to help
with the recovery.
Reverse Triangle is a pose I did at the begin-
ning of my physical therapy. When I would lift
my hand over my head and lean, it would relieve
some of the pressure. Whenever I was done with
that pose, it would seem like I had grown taller.
Technically I hadn’t, but it made me feel tall.
There will always be limitations to what I can
do. My spine doesn’t bend forward, and because
I’m done growing, it will not straighten out any
more. The rods will always be there. But my
goals are to be in less pain and to join cheerlead-
ing again, which I did for a long time before the
surgery. I have good friends who know what’s
wrong, and they support me and help me. This is
me, and I can’t do anything to change it, so I’m
just going to live my life.REVERSE TRIANGLE POSE