The Move

In July of 2006, my family and I made the long move from California to Colorado. At this time in my life I was only 12 years old. I was excited for what was to come, but was unsure of how I felt at the same time. We got settled into our new home, and about a month later I started the 7th grade. There was a definite struggle trying to get used to Colorado, and at the same time a new school and new friends. I was just trying to make it in middle school at the time, and seemed to be doing pretty well. About a year later, my family and I began chiropractic care. This was the first time we had gone to the chiropractor since we moved. The last time I got x-rays, which was right before the move, my spine was in perfectly good condition. Of course, at the new chiropractor, we had to get the normal check up of x-rays and an adjustment. When it came time to review the x-rays, it was obvious that my spine was not in perfect condition as it was before. In a year it happened to go from straight to two curves. These curves measured to be about 18 degrees and 17 degrees. My chiropractor informed my family and me that this was a condition called scoliosis. We were unsure as to what it was that we needed to do, but the chiropractor told us he would be able to fix it in a year with a money-back guarantee. We knew that none of us had any training, so we went ahead and trusted the man who told us it was fixable. I attended my chiropractor's care about 3 times a week for one whole year. When it came to checking the x-rays not only did my curves not get any better, they got much worse.

Next Time: Our next course of action...

Sharp Pains

About a month after the car wreck, while at the daddy-daughter retreat, my dad and I were playing miniature golf. Suddenly I had to stop myself as I felt an extremely sharp pain in my chest. I can't explain the exact feeling, but maybe this description could help... It felt a though someone took a knife to my chest and stabbed me over and over, or possibly it felt like a lightning strike in my sternum. I had to stop playing mini golf for about two minute, but then I started up again. I definitely thought it to be strange, but didn't take it too seriously. The time I did have to take it seriously was when I sat down for the first time while I was in the middle of a soccer game, for pain. I have a very high pain tolerance, so when it comes to stopping a soccer game for my pain, it's something to worry about. The reason for my sitting down was because I felt like I couldn't breathe, and once again, that sharp pain struck my chest. My family and I took our weekly visit to the chiropractor, and my doctor said I must have a rib head out of place. He adjusted me, and I felt better... I really did, but nevertheless the pain came back a few weeks later. I continued to get adjustments, and finally my chest pains went down to about three times a month. This pain became normal for me, and I began to get used to it and ignore the pain when I could. It's a shame really when someone has to get used to a pain, but if that's what needs to be done, then so be it...

Next time... The Move to Colorado in the summer of 2006

The Accident

I waited outside for my mom to pick me up after my private soccer training session. After a few minutes of waiting, she and my sister pulled up in our blue 1990 Dodge Caravan. I opened up the sliding door and got inside. My mom asked me how the session went, and we were on our way. At the age of 11, I was a very tedious worker. Once I hopped into the car, I went right to finishing up my school work. When we were about 5 minutes from home, my mom honked the horn suddenly; which was common in California, so it didn't really startle me.. Sure I was taken a bit off guard, but I went right back to looking down at my school work. About 5 seconds later, my mom honked the horn again, but this time.. she laid on the horn. I looked up to see a large, tan F-150 pulling out in front of us. No, my mom did not have enough time to slow down from 45 mph at a 20 ft distance. At that moment, I braced myself, hoping that it would not be too bad. I had never been in a car accident until that afternoon. With just a lap belt on, I flung forward in a twisted position and my cheek hit the seat in front of me. After the huge impact, I realized that everything flew forward into the front seat. My mom suddenly told my sister to find the phone and call 911. Since everything had moved, she couldn't find it right away. Once she did, she dialed 911 and within two minutes, the firetrucks, police cars, and ambulance were there. My dad came as soon as he could, and went with us to the hospital. I remember everything that day. I was taken away in a stretcher that had about 10 different seat belts on it, and put into the ambulance. My mom was right next to me with a 3rd degree sprain of her ankle. The EMT guys gave me a Dalmatian stuffed animal wearing a fireman's hat. My battle wounds from that day were the bruises on my waist from the seat belt, and the large abrasion on my cheek. My sister told me that I looked like a chipmunk, and she was right.. Again, I am not saying that this is what caused my scoliosis, but it has been looked into. It may be a huge factor into how I got my scoliosis, and it may not be. The cause of scoliosis isn't white or black, but still so gray......

Jumping on the bed

The early years: "Daddy, look at what I can do!" I was so excited that I could jump from one side of the bed to the other at the age of ONLY 4! But of course I hurt myself the time I asked my dad to come and watch me. I think I was an over achiever.. When I started to jump, I jumped too far and hit the top, middle part of my gums of my mouth on the metal bed frame. Yes.. it hurt, but what 4 year old doesn't get a battle wound every once in a while? Little did I know that this could have been ONE of the many possible causes of my condition to come 9 years down the road.

Later down the road: At some point between the age of 13 & 17 (these past four years have been a blur), in one of my several visits to the doctor's office, I was asked if I had any direct impacts to my head when I was a child. No, the doctor did not think that this is what caused my scoliosis, but he did say that it could be a possible cause. The actual cause of scoliosis is still not known, but a direct impact to the head has been considered.

Next Post: Want to know about another event that occurred in 2005, when I was 10? It's another possible cause of my scoliosis that was to come...