Jessy's Story
Hi my name Jessy Peters and I am the leader of the NS chapter of Curvy Girl’s. I am 15 years old and I was diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis in 2022 after having non stop back pain for a couple of months. One day I was in a store with my mom and I remember feeling like I was going to throw up because of the pain in my back. Right away my mom called a chiropractor and I was in a few days later. He said it looks like I might have a slight curve in my back and I got referred for an X-ray. After my X-ray I was confirmed to have scoliosis. It was a curve on the more mild side but when I went back in 3 months later my curve increased around 15 degrees and that's when talks of surgery started. After a couple more X-rays I was at a 46 degree curve. The surgeon recommended waiting until after 50 so we waited. My curve has gone down with lots of yoga and is now at a 42 degree curve. I am still doing lots of yoga and physio to try to keep my curve from moving and keep my back pain to a minimum. Since I was diagnosed at age 14 I was too late for bracing because I am almost done growing so the only solution is to get surgery if my spine curve increases much more. This is pretty stressful for me and for my parents and it's been a challenge thinking about surgery and having to find ways for helping decrease the pain, but we found great resources like curvy girls and we are hopeful that my spine curve does not increase anymore.
To everyone struggling with scoliosis right now just know it'll be ok. It may be really stressful and scary at this time dealing with bracing or surgery or even just not feeling like you have anyone to talk to. There are many great platforms for kids and adults struggling with scoliosis you can check out to help learn more or find other people to talk with. There are also many scoliosis stories you can find about people who went back to doing this that are high impact after their surgery.
“Things may seem difficult right now but this is just another
experience to look back on that you can say you were strong
enough to get through.”
If you're feeling insecure about your brace you can use it as a great conversation starter and a way to bring awareness to scoliosis. The more people aware about this cause the more people who are willing to help. So stay strong, stay brave and be proud to be curvy.