Lois’ Story – ten years on from scoliosis spinal surgery at Sheffield Children’s

22-year-old Lois was diagnosed with Scoliosis 13 years ago at Sheffield Children’s. It’s now been 10 years since her spinal surgery, and she looks back on the care she’s received and how it’s helped her live life to the full today.

Diagnosis

When Lois was seven years old on a holiday in Italy swimming, her mum first noticed her back from certain angles appeared different to how it had looked before. She wasn’t overly concerned at first, but Lois’ back continued to change, becoming more noticeable over time. The decision was made to book a doctor’s appointment where Lois was immediately referred to Sheffield Children’s spinal surgery team.

It was then, in 2009, that Lois met Dr Lee Breakwell, Consultant Spinal Surgeon, and received a scoliosis diagnosis. Scoliosis is a condition where the spine curves to the side and twists. It can appear in several ways, from a visibly curved spine to one shoulder or hip sticking out, uneven shoulders or the ribs sticking out on one side.

Lois was fitted with a ‘full-time brace’ to hold her spine in position, preventing the curve from worsening. Lois explained: “The back brace was really uncomfortable for me personally, I got too hot, and I found it hard to find clothes to wear over the brace, however I persevered and continued to wear it for 22 hours a day.”

Spinal Surgery

Lois continued to wear the brace as much as she could for the next three years but unfortunately her back continued to worsen, curving to 63 degrees.

She said: “After a love hate relationship with the brace and my spine only continuing to worsen, I decided after a discussion with Dr Breakwell it was time to consider the surgical route for scoliosis. Dr Breakwell took me through the surgery, speaking to me like I was his own daughter, I felt in incredibly safe hands.” In 2012 Lois had corrective spinal surgery at Sheffield Children’s Hospital to straighten her spine.

Lois’ parents added: “Through an extremely difficult time the care and compassion we received as a family was faultless. We felt Lois’ consultant Dr Breakwell always had time to explain the procedure not only to us as parents but to Lois as well. His care for Lois throughout was impeccable and we couldn’t have asked for better.”

After the surgery Lois spent some time recovering on Ward 3. Lois doesn’t remember a huge amount of her stay as a 12 year old but said: “the one thing that has always stuck in my mind is that the nurses were an absolute dream.”

Recovery

Once Lois had recovered enough to return home, she continued to visit Sheffield Children’s for regular check-ups and, over time, saw a massive improvement in the curvature of her spine. Her spine moved from a 63 degree angle prior to surgery to 20 degrees after and two years later Lois had her last appointment where she was discharged from Sheffield Children’s.

Ten years on from her surgery Lois is doing really well, enjoying her passions of running and walking with her family dog Minnie, never letting her scoliosis hold her back.

She said: “I received such excellent, life-changing care and I wanted to give back to the NHS in some way. I’m not a big fan of blood so I am now working as a call handler for the Yorkshire Ambulance Service in the patient transport department, sometimes organising transport for patients to attend Sheffield Children’s. It’s nice to know I’m supporting a service that changed my life.”