START TESTING FOR SCOLIOSIS IN SCHOOLS
Updates!!!
I just want to thank everyone for signing :) . Good luck to anyone who has/or is about to have their surgery. If anyone gets the chance, please could you add a scoliosis testing message to their websites or tell their friends about the petition. If we all do something - or even just sign :-) - then we could really make a difference. Here's a quick list of thankyous:
1. Everyone who has signed or read the Angel Balloons (I attached some balloons to the Angel of the North).2 Anyone who has ever performed surgery etc on scoliosis patients or researched scoliosis.
Hope everyone is well
Bye
EM
I've found out my operation worked :) and am so happy just wanted to post about that. Also please tell people about the petition - 374 at least 250 on Gillian Mckeith's - it could really work if we keep trying
Thanks
Emma
30th July
Intro
My petition is to help raise awareness for scoliosis by sending this petition , with the following aims to the PM and MP'S. To test a child for scoliosis at certain ages will take less than a minute (with a forward bend test) but will help the child as 1 in 3000 people have scoliosis (curvature of the spine) so bad they have to have major surgery, which takes months to fully recover from. if they were tested earlier then this could have been prevented , in some cases, by use of a brace. So please sign this petiton and help children across the U.K. A new year is the perfect time to help.
Yours sincerely
C E Y
January 1st 2008
If you sign we are on the way to getting noticed.
Thankyou
Our target is 125 signatures by June 31st 2008
Please spread the word!!!
Petition Blog
January 4th
Have just checked my site and am amazed at number of responses - keep them coming
January 11th
Today our petition has had brilliant news! We have had a good luck message from the secretary of the Duke of york and our petition has been put up in a GP's. 19th January We have had a good luck message from Blue Peter!!!!!!! And Tanni Grey Thompson , Paralympic star has signed my website . Also today we added our first link to our new scoliosis forum at http://www.scoliosis.aceboard.com/ Ckeck it out. Some messages need registering to leave a post but some dont .Tell your scoliosis story and spread the word. Talk to people like you. Also go on Bt Today and read our first news coverage , just go btplc.com/today and London and young girl calls for health checks.
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
June 1st
Sorry for not updating this in so long - instead I have been promoting the petition via TV (BBC Your News 31/5-1/6), Newspaper ( Mail on Sunday via Gilllian Mckeith's petition abotu my petition on her site) (and local newspaper Gazette on 24th March).
Updates!!!
I just want to thank everyone for signing :) . Good luck to anyone who has/or is about to have their surgery. If anyone gets the chance, please could you add a scoliosis testing message to their websites or tell their friends about the petition. If we all do something - or even just sign :-) - then we could really make a difference. Here's a quick list of thankyous:
1. Everyone who has signed or read the Angel Balloons (I attached some balloons to the Angel of the North).2 Anyone who has ever performed surgery etc on scoliosis patients or researched scoliosis.
Hope everyone is well
Bye
EM
I've found out my operation worked :) and am so happy just wanted to post about that. Also please tell people about the petition - 374 at least 250 on Gillian Mckeith's - it could really work if we keep trying
Thanks
Emma
30th July
Intro
My petition is to help raise awareness for scoliosis by sending this petition , with the following aims to the PM and MP'S. To test a child for scoliosis at certain ages will take less than a minute (with a forward bend test) but will help the child as 1 in 3000 people have scoliosis (curvature of the spine) so bad they have to have major surgery, which takes months to fully recover from. if they were tested earlier then this could have been prevented , in some cases, by use of a brace. So please sign this petiton and help children across the U.K. A new year is the perfect time to help.
Yours sincerely
C E Y
January 1st 2008
If you sign we are on the way to getting noticed.
Thankyou
Our target is 125 signatures by June 31st 2008
Please spread the word!!!
Petition Blog
January 4th
Have just checked my site and am amazed at number of responses - keep them coming
January 11th
Today our petition has had brilliant news! We have had a good luck message from the secretary of the Duke of york and our petition has been put up in a GP's. 19th January We have had a good luck message from Blue Peter!!!!!!! And Tanni Grey Thompson , Paralympic star has signed my website . Also today we added our first link to our new scoliosis forum at http://www.scoliosis.aceboard.com/ Ckeck it out. Some messages need registering to leave a post but some dont .Tell your scoliosis story and spread the word. Talk to people like you. Also go on Bt Today and read our first news coverage , just go btplc.com/today and London and young girl calls for health checks.
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
June 1st
Sorry for not updating this in so long - instead I have been promoting the petition via TV (BBC Your News 31/5-1/6), Newspaper ( Mail on Sunday via Gilllian Mckeith's petition abotu my petition on her site) (and local newspaper Gazette on 24th March).
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All girls should be tested
I did not have scoliosis testing in my school. I have a S-shaped curve. I have a top curve of 25 degrees and a lower curve of 43 degrees. I found my scoliosis a year ago and was immediatly in a brace. If my school had this testing, i wouldve had a much smaller degree now and would have avoided the need for fusion surgery. Over the time that i didn't know i had scoliosis, it progressed and now i am within the need of surgery. I strongly encourage you to start testing scoliosis in schools and gain the awareness it should recieve.
i discovered my son had scoliosis whilst on holiday and feel if it had been routinely checked at school it could have been treated sooner. his curve is now 80 degrees out and he is waiting surgery!!
i have scoliosis, an S shaped curve which is now over 45 degrees. i think it would be a great idea to mget testing done in schools as i know many people who only found out they have scoliosis when they were much older - who knows if their curves could have been helped much further if it had been detected earlier...
I recently had corrective surgery for scoliosis and know how painful it is and if it can be avoided i would strongly suggest that it is as I would not wish this condition upon anybody. Having had an operation i feel very drained alot of the time, i think that this has had a negative effect on my school work, as i feel less able to concentrate as well as i had before the operation. Scoliosis has caused me alot of pain and as i will never have a perfect straight spine, i do consider it a little pointless though it will reduce the pains i get. being in my major exam years at school i find myself struggling as i do have to miss days because i am still recovering from my op. If scoliosis can be detected before it gets to the stage mine was at for other young girls, i would be very happy as i wouldnt want anybody to have to go through this pain. not only has it effected me physically but mentally too as i feel more self-conscious as my ribs and shoulder are out of place - though i am told that they will move back, still i will always know that if this had been detected earlier something may have been done. i hope that this petition is successful - teenagers have enough to deal with already without having to even consider an operation aswell. Just to aware people of this would be a massive step forward as it is so common yet still unheard of unless it effects you.
If such a simple test can prevent so much pain and suffering why oh why isn't it being done. My daughter now 16 had surgery in july 2008 and she is still in pain and worries that she may not end up straight while she waits for the residual muscle imbalance to correct itself. Her condition was only diagnosed at age 15 after it had progressed enough for me to notice her shoulder blade protruding -to late for bracing to even be considered. I hope your petition succeeds so that girls in the future get the help they need as early as possible.
I have had Scoliosis and have had 2 Back Operations, and 5 years ago I had a spinal fusion. I was diagonised when I was 11 and I think it is very important that schools check for these signs in children. Well done I think this is great petition and lets hope the government does something good for once! take care
i was just diagnosed with scoliosis and i'm 45 years old! please test all children early on, so this can be corrected before it's too late! thank-you!
My son has scoliosis following brain injury aged 6, and have managed to stop it getting worse through being persistent, monitoring myself, using Chiropractic therapy at my own expense, insisting on better seating and not relying on his physio at school, perhaps if they had to follow more strict guidelines or enlist experts to do this periodically a fortune and other risks involved in surgery could be avoided - I know our health service is however not very good and acting sooner and take preventative measures (due to budget constraints usually) and prefer to take the 'lets shut the stable door now as we watch the horse galloping off into the distance and chuck money after it too' approach!!!!!
My daughter has Scoliosis which I noticed and had confirmed by my G.P. when she was aged 11 years old , ( she is 21 now,) I strongly feel this would have been noticed earlier if testing had been done in school.
My great gran had scoliosis and raising awareness and testing like this is looong overdue.
I was diagnosed with scoliosis at the age of 14 (already having spinabifida from birth) with my parents noticing a change in my posture. Unfortunately, because of waiting lists i didn't get my surgery until 3 years later. The surgery was painful but definitely worth it. Now, nothing stops me and i lead a normal life...love my mountain biking! Having been through this though, I think it should be a test for children in schools. If nothing else, just make parents aware of the condition. How long would it take just to check?
I had a scoliosis surgery in 1996, when I was thirteen. I grew up in Sweden, where they do these tests in school and this is why my illness was discovered and treated before the condition got worse. I am today not affected by the surgery in the least and no-one would be able to tell, by looking at me, that I have metal in my spine. Thanks to the surgery that dr Stig Aaro performed on me, I have been able to reach for my goals in life.
My daughter Crystal was diagnosed with scoleosis in May of this year. She had had an xray taken of her back after a fall in Dec 2006 and all was clear. The scoleosis appeared quickly and over the one year has now progressed to 58 and 52. An operation is inevitable and she is very scared. I took her to the London Scoleosis Clinic and she has been fitted with a SpineCor Brace (flexible) to try and slow down the progression, we go back on Saturday to see if it has worked. If she had been tested at school at the beginning of P7 or 1st year it may well have been noticed and the spinecor brace may at that time been able to cure her. I hope everyone who has a daughter signs this petition. Well done Emma.
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I am 39 yrs old and I have scoliosis.I've had it since I was about 13.I seen doctors and specialists when I was younger and the only thing they could do was surgery because my curve was severe.I didn't have the surgery because I was scared.They told me there was a 50% chance I would be paralyzed and never walk again so I decided not to have the surgery.
Testing is school will help many young girls. It is simple and easy. If it is caught early treatment is easy.
If it had not been for a routine school medical at age 13 my parents or I would not have known there was anything wrong with my spine, but over the next few months I rapidly developed an 'S' shaped spine and humped back. It was back in 1987 when treatment was fairly limited to plastercasts or braces, however, luckily for me my uncle was a surgeon and had previously worked alongside a colleage of his who had a particular interest in surgical correction for scoliosis, so I was referred to him. I underwent a 2 stage spinal fusion at the RNOH, Stanmore in 1988. It was a very painful and frightening experience, but when I stood up for the first time following my surgery, I was amazed and very happy to find I was 4.5 inches taller and for the first time in my life the same height as my Mum. We were both in tears, I felt so tall, straight slim and normal, it made everything so very worthwhile, I am eternally grateful to my wonderful surgeon and all who helped me. In my view routine screening for Scoliosis is very necessary for both awareness and treatment of this relatively unknown, and indeed, if left untreated, most disabilitating disease.
Our 13 year old daughter was diagnosed with Scoliosis 12 months ago, and any progression is being monitored (currently 25 degrees). We are also following specialised Italian physiotherapy exercises (see ISICO) and being assessed in two weeks time for an active flexible brace (Spinecor) in the UK. I fully support early testing, but also non-invasive/conservative management of lesser curves aimed at reducing progression. Good luck, keep up the good work.
For more impact, add a personal comment here
Such an easy thing to do. Please sign. Tricia
I have scoliosis on top of minor Spina Bifida which necessitated major spinal surgery in my early twenties (I am now in mid-forties).The surgery was a successful attempt to sort severe back pain and to prevent the scoliosis from getting worse. I was in extreme pain continuously but mid-teens to early twenties. The sooner the problem is spotted, the better.
My Sister suffers with scoliosis and its something that is often not spotted, testing in schools is the way forward.
In the year 2000 I had surgery for my Scoliosis. I had 2 Harrington rods and lots of pins, which to this day I still have! The years that I suffered were unbearable both physically and psychologically. If I had not found a surgeon who was prepared to help me the repercussions would have been unthinkable. However, I was lucky and the pain and suffering I had to go through with the op was worth it. However, if we can prevent so many others from having to live a reduced quality of life or go through the trauma and risk of a major operation then all the better. I fully support the aim of this petition and will do anything to move it forward. From experience if you are in pain and keep being pushed away then pester the doctors don't leave it! That's what I had to do! Amanda
My niece has this condition and though she has been strong and stoic, we naturally would have preferred that she has not had to go through everything she has endured.
I've had a scoliosis surgery in april 2007 in Stanmore Hospital, im fourteen, I've worn a brace before the operation for 18months and after my operation 6 months. I had a thoracic progressive curve, it was a successful surgery and im all good now. :)
I have a mild scoliosis that has resulted in pain for all of my adult life. Although I visited GPs etc over the years with chronic back pain and the peculiar shape of my spine was noted I was not diagnosed until my mid 40s. I'm for anything that would support early diagnosis and good support.
Monitoring and more help for children growing up with scoliosis - especially teenagers dealing with the usual body issues anyway.
I am 33 and had to wear a brace for 7 years and 2 operations in 1988 to correct my scoliosis - am fine now!
I agree - best to test for scoliosis at age 12, along with the rubella vaccine. This is how they do it in Australian schools.
In Australia, at age 12 I was screened at school for Scoliosis and I was one of two on my year to have it. This meant that my condition could be monitored throughout my teens and determine my treatment. It is awful that there are British girls with back problems and not aware of it. The health system should screen all girls...why not on the same day as the rubella jab, for example? Very important!
My daughter was diagnosed with scoliosis in March 2008. We were referred by our GP to see a specialist who informed us all was OK and she should only need physio. However, she referred us to her colleague anyway. She also had an MRI scan. The MRI scan was fine, however, the consultant told us (In June 2008) that her spine was between 50 and 55 degrees for both curves and she would need surgery, no question. We are now waiting to see another spinal consultant in mid Oct. She is in so much pain, often collapses and has low self esteem due to her appearance. Goodness knows when she will have surgery. If this had been picked up earlier we wouldn't need to be going through all this trauma and she wouldn't be needing major surgery. She has enough to cope with having just started upper school, without all this going on.
I am fity six yrs old and had my upper spine fusion 6 yrs ago, I am now going in to have the lumbar region fused in December this year. I have pain continually and have botulinum injections in my neck every 3 months to help with muscle spasms. Prior to my 1st surgery I wasconfined to a wheelchair,I recovered quickly from surgery and wore a brace 24 / 7 for a year. Unfortunately the pressure my lower spine is under now means I have to have this further surgery,I have complete faith in my consltant but wish fervently that this scoliosis had been picked up when I was a youngster. Unfortunatley for me doctors then put it down to "growing pains". At 25, and after the birth of my son (now 30) the pains I reported to my then doctor were called hysteric, presumably because I was female. I was told I had one leg longer than the other and wore a lift in my shoe for 2 yrs.I was fitted with a brace,but becoming pregnant with my daughter (now 25)made that impossible. So as you can see a screening programme is so important, and might have saved me all these years of pain and disability. I still endeavour to meet every day with a grin and get the rest of my body to join in!! Regards Helen Howard
As a sufferer of scoliosis, I believe it is important to screen young people so that they can get the suitable treatment. It is a quick and simple test to carry out and not many parents even know about scoliosis, so to have a proper testing system is crucial
Hello, My daughter Molly is 16 years old and was diagnosed with scoliosis in February of this year. She studies performing arts at college and has complained of severe back pain and difficulty sitting in one position for a long time. Her movement has also gradually become more and more restricted to the extent that she struggles with the dance aspect of her course. After having x rays and scans her s shape scoliosis was diagnosed and she is now waiting for possibly complete spinal corrective surgery. She is a brave girl but who knows what thoughts and worries lay behind her outgoing confidence. We have been told that had the scoliosis been caught early on in its development then she would not be in this position now and having to contemplate giving up the career she had her heart set on from a young age. I sincerely hope you begin scoliosis testing in schools as soon as possible. I am as proud as anyone can be of their daughter and her stoicism is humbling but I know she would not be going through this at this crucial stage in her life had she been tested early at school. Remember, the children are the future.
I was diagnosed with scoliosis at 14. I am now 41 and believe that with the advances in technology, early screening is crucial in the treatment and prevention of scoliosis. This should be carried out routinely - we owe it to our children.
I had a Harrington Rod and Fusion in 1977 for scoliosis. My mom was a PE teacher at our community school. Along with Dr. John Payne who had done his residency with my surgeon, my mom and Dr. Payne worked with our school system to get testing in the schools. Today, all elementary students are screened for scoliosis. I am very proud that my mom was so pushy to get the help for others who have scoliosis. Without mom and Dr. Payne, it would not be possible.
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3:30 pm PDT, Sep 7,
Paul Roberts, United Kingdom
i myself have a 11 year old daughter that has had the operation to correct her spine due to scoliosis only picked up by myself when she complained of back pain,her spine was the shape of an "s" her operation was carried out out the queens university hospital at Nottingham by Dr Webb.Early diagnosis is crucial so let them start testing. scoliosis is not mentioned on tv or in the papers like other conditions its about time it was more heard of............ many thanks to all that sponsored me raising money for scoliosis.. |
the operation to correct a scoliosis is very traumatic for everyone, patient and family, and anything that can spot a scoliosis earlier and maybe prevent the trauma of surgery, should be encouraged. my daughter is now recovering after 3 very long operations to correct a serious curvature and you have to wonder if this had been spotted earlier whether or not this major surgery could have been avoided.
Our daughter was diagnosed with Scoliosis 2 years ago, and she has had 2 successful operations to correct the "S" curve in her spine.Her surgeon was brilliant! We were totally unaware of this condition, and since our daughters diagnosis we have been amazed how many people have this condition. Early diagnosis is crucial to the treatment of Scoliosis and testing in schools would greatly improve the publics awareness of Scoliosis, and also the early detection of curvature of the spine amongst young people.
I diagnosed with idopathic scoliosis at age 13, and was operated on within 6 months when my curve was very severe. If caught earlier my operation may not have been as long and complicated and the recovery also so long.
If I had been screened at school I would be in a better position than I am now....I suffer terribly from post scoliosis-op problems 9 years later. Please start screening in school's like they do in America, it can improve so many people's lives.
