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“Don’t worry, you will look back on this when it is all over and laugh about how upset you were,” my father tried to comfort me again.

Eight years after my diagnosis I still have not laughed about my experience with scoliosis, but as hard as it was, and as weird as it sounds, I am now thankful for it. It has made me strong and compassionate, and has taught me to appreciate what I have and not to sweat the small things in life.

Alisa Giardinelli, native Philadelphian and writer for Swarthmore College’s news and information office, wore a back brace during the night for seven years and underwent spinal fusion surgery at the age of 14, which was followed by six months straight of bracing. She too believes that her scoliosis has served to teach her an important lesson.

“In the hospital, I was around kids a lot worse off than I was. As uncomfortable as I was, I knew I would live.”

Instead of feeling sorry for herself, Giardinelli put her condition in perspective. “I always knew my issues were manageable. I think knowing that has served me well as an adult.”

In my case, Dr. Hoppenfeld suggested an aggressive approach of 23-hour per day bracing until I reached skeletal maturity, in order to stabilize my spine and prevent the curve from increasing. In his words, the brace was to be “very aesthetic.” It was the furthest thing from “aesthetic” that my 12-year-old eyes had ever seen.

Bracing is used as treatment for scoliosis patients who suffer from curves in the range of 20-40 degrees. According to The Mayo Clinic, “Bracing is an option only during the years of active growth,” and ends upon full skeletal maturity. Its purpose is to prevent curves from increasing into surgical range. This approach does not necessarily improve the curve but stabilizes it.

My first brace was specially made of hard plastic to form to my body. It strapped closed in the back and was to be worn under my clothes. During the summer, it trapped in heat. It was uncomfortable, painful, and atbest, annoying, but it was definitely not “aesthetic.”

I went through two braces in three years, until my growth plates closed toward the end of my freshman year in high school. At this point, Dr. Hoppenfeld felt that he could no longer help me with mere bracing. He suggested posterior spinal fusion surgery to my parents.

Surgery is recommended for patients with curves greater than 40 degrees.

Posterior spinal fusion corrects the curve by permanently implanting metal rods in place to hold the bone fusion in order for it to correctly heal. “Scoliosis surgery is one of the longest and most complicated orthopedic surgical procedures performed on children,” according to The Mayo Clinic.

In December of 1985 Alisa Giardinelli underwent spinal fusion surgery at A.I. Dupont Institute in Wilmington, Delaware. She woke up nearly two inches taller than she was prior to the operation.

“Any kind of major surgery makes a kid grow up faster than their peers and gives them a sense of the big picture,” Giardinelli believes.

At 14, she was fortunate to realize the importance of life, a notion that many of her classmates had probablynot yet pondered. “In the midst of it all, especially the surgery, my sights were set on the future, not the moment.”

Catherine Gianaro, an information officer at The University of Chicago, underwent six operations from the ages of five to 16, in order to improve her scoliosis, and donned a full body cast for five months following her surgeries at 14. “I would be a totally different person had I not gone through what I did,” she admits.

Despite her hardships, she too has emerged with an optimistic outlook. When asked what advice she would give to an adolescent recently diagnosed with the lateral curvature of the spine, she replied, “They should know that they are lucky to have something that can be fixed. Going to clinics and rehabilitation centers all my life showed me how much worse so many others are.”

Upon the suggestion of surgery, my parents consulted other doctors for second and third opinions of my condition, and finally decided against the operation.

My spine is still curved, and it always will be. I visit a chiropractor every two months, who suggests that my active athletic lifestyle assists in keeping my spine aligned. I am living with scoliosis, and other than the occasional lower back pain from standing or sitting in one position for an extended period of time, I am healthy. Now, nobody even realizes that I have a spinal condition.

Gianaro and Giardinelli also have few physical limitations in their adulthood.

“I bike, run, play racquetball, yoga (although abbreviated), tennis, horseback ride, and whatever else comes to mind,” says Gianaro, who once suffered from a curve measuring nearly 200 degrees. “The only sport I can’t seem to conquer is golf, but I’m not sure if it’s because of a lack of flexibility in my back or just a lack of talent.”

Giardinelli’s only limitation after her spinal fusion surgery is that she can no longer do somersaults.

Her advice to adolescents recently diagnosed with scoliosis seems most appropriate. “I can only say try your best to keep the long view in mind, not the short term.”