Why wouldn't scoliosis be my worst enemy? I mean, it causes pain on a daily basis. I had to wear a hunk of plastic for 6 years of my life. They had to slice my whole back open and screw permanent rods into my spine. I will never be able to bend my back again. What could possibly be good about that?
Well... Those are actually the reasons why scoliosis has been one of the greatest blessings in my life. There are really rough days, the days I am the weakest, and that is when I have felt God's strength the most. There are days when I don't know what is going to happen. My life would be drastically changed with surgery. That is when I have learned to trust Him most. There are days when normal, everyday things become difficult while recovering from surgery, and that is when I learn to be more thankful. God has used my scoliosis, a physical weakness, to strengthen me and make me more like Him.
God has also used my scoliosis to allow me to meet others. I have new friends that I've met at Shriners (including my nurses and doctors), and a ton of people I have communicated with through this blog and my video.
I have to thank everyone who has helped me through every step of the way. I have so much to thank God for... for choosing me to have scoliosis. My parents have always been there for me. Every doctor's appointment, through the whole surgery and recovery. I wasn't as thankful when my mom always told me to get my brace on, but it was because she cared enough to make me wear it.
My teachers and coaches in high school were so supportive. They would always ask about how my doctor's appointments went. They prayed for me. And here at college, where I thought I would never get to know my teachers, they actually care and pray for me. I have so many friends here who genuinely care. And I can't forget my sister, Emily, who has always been with me, either to laugh at me or to help me.
God is so good. He knew that I needed to be born with scoliosis. It's been one of the greatest blessings of my life.
Great story Katie and God is good...and so is your mother.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how many of you are aware of the recent scientific developments and breakthroughs that have or are recently occurring in the field of scoliosis treatment. Prognostic testing/technology in the way of genetic testing and blood tests are now able to determine which early stage scoliosis patients are most likely to experience severe curve progression. This presents a new and unique opportunity for early stage scoliosis intervention rehab programs to reduce and eliminate many of the "at risk" smaller curve cases before they progress to much more complex and difficult large curvature cases. It’s actually quite revolutionary and amazing.