Pat Schellhorn

I am a retired physical education teacher and now a spinal champion who had a successful fusion of my entire spine. I never knew I had scoliosis until I was 16. I was helping my father and lifted something heavy, and I experienced severe pain in my thoracic area, and my lung collapsed. Because of my lung, an x-ray was done, which showed I had scoliosis. By the time I was 59, my scoliosis had worsened to a 42 degree curvature, and I developed drop foot which prompted my first surgery in September of 2017, which was unsuccessful, causing my scoliosis to worsen considerably, from 42 degrees to an 82 degree curve, causing excruciating pain which required me to use a walker. I could hardly function and had horrible headaches from my cerebrospinal fluid leaking. I finally contacted a spine specialist who is considered a world renowned expert in scoliosis deformity correction. In December of 2018, I had my second surgery, which was a complete spinal fusion from my lower cervical spine to my sacral spine. Despite my case being complicated by osteoarthritis and osteopenia, my surgery was a success! I now have a completely straight spine, and I am now 4 inches taller. Since my surgery I am committed to a daily exercise routine and have been doing some things I enjoy like cooking and baking and I’ve even been on my bike! I used to have a pain pump, but I no longer require it. I am amazed at my results!