Tumbling to Triumph: A Teenage Scoliosis Story

[00:00:00] Dr. Rita Roy: Hi everyone. My name is Dr. Rita Roy, CEO of the National Spine Health Foundation, and I’m your host for the Get Back to It Podcast where we tell real stories of healing and recovery. What does it mean to get back to it? It means overcoming a spine problem through treatments that work in order to return to the people and activities you love.
[00:00:22] Whatever that looks like for you, it means getting back to your life. We’re here to share the success stories of people who did just that. And some of these stories you’re not going to believe
[00:00:38] at the Get Back Toit podcast. Our goal is to tell stories of spinal champions who’ve been able to achieve a better quality of life through spinal healthcare. Today’s guest is Stella, a high school junior from Itasca, Illinois, whose scoliosis journey began with a routine physical at age 14. Her curve rapidly progressed, leading her to a journey of intense bracing and ultimately spinal fusion surgery from T two to L three.
[00:01:07] The road to recovery was long, but her strength and positive mindset carried her through now six months postoperative. She’s back at school, mostly pain-free, and looking forward to running again this summer. Let’s get back to it and hear her powerful story.
[00:01:28] In June of 2022, Stella was 14 years old and was about to start her freshman year of high school.
[00:01:35] Stella Kinander: I had just finished eighth grade and had to quit gymnastics because of my commute from school. Also, the practice times made it impossible for me to continue doing it. We used to practice four hours a day, three to four days a week.
[00:01:47] I decided to try out for cheer going into my freshman year since I loved to tumble, I ended up making varsity freshman year. And started doing some pretty intense tumbling on dead mat, dead mats. The floor that high school and college cheer teams use, unlike gymnastics and all star cheer, dead mat doesn’t have springs.
[00:02:05] Not only was it harder to tumble on, but it was especially hard to land on. Since there’s no springs, your body directly absorbs the force of the landing. We had cheer practice two to three times a week after school, but some weekends we had a super long practice for choreography or skills camp, like seven to eight hours of just cheerleading.
[00:02:23] It wasn’t. Until after freshman year, I started to feel a lot of pain in my back. When I would land my tumbling, it got so bad that cheering wasn’t even fun anymore. Every single practice, I went home in pain, and one time I injured my ankle so bad. I had to use crutches and wear a boot for a month.
[00:02:40] Dr. Rita Roy: Stella attended a routine physical in June of 2022 with her mom.
[00:02:45] Little did she know this appointment would change her life.
[00:02:50] Stella Kinander: At this appointment, I was diagnosed with idiopathic a Thora Columbar scoliosis, meaning my spine was abnormally curved. Idiopathic means that there’s no root cause for why it’s developed. The curves were located for my thoracic spine down to my lumbar spine.
[00:03:05] When my mom and I went to this appointment, my mom had asked my doctor if she could check for scoliosis because she noticed my hips were slightly uneven when she would watch me in gymnastics. Sure enough. Up. The doctor found a very, very, very small curve in my spine, so small that there was nothing for us to do about it.
[00:03:21] I was in no pain. It wasn’t bothering me, so we just let it go. I’d forgotten about it for the next few months.
[00:03:29] Dr. Rita Roy: Over the next 10 months, Stella noticed a sudden increase in pain in her back.
[00:03:35] Stella Kinander: It felt like a constant throbbing pain in my lower back that would just come and go. It hurt when I tumbled and cheer
[00:03:42] Dr. Rita Roy: growing.
[00:03:43] More concerned about her worsening symptoms. Stella saw scoliosis specialist Dr. Fontas in Chicago in May of 2023.
[00:03:53] Stella Kinander: They had me get some x-rays done to see the exact curvature of the spine. The x-rays showed two curves, one that was 33 degrees in my upper thoracic spine, and one that was 31 degrees in my lower lumbar spine.
[00:04:06] Dr. Rita Roy: To prevent progression, the doctor recommended Stella use a scoliosis brace.
[00:04:11] Stella Kinander: A scoliosis brace is a big plastic mold that wraps her around your torso. And stretch tightly so that you’re forced to sit up straight. In August, 2023, I began bracing for 18 hours a day. Whenever I wore the brace, I felt like my breathing was limited or that I was going to pass out.
[00:04:27] I couldn’t eaten it because of how tight it was, but surprisingly, it was most comfortably when I slept in it. Eventually I got used to the feeling and it didn’t cause me any issues, except I was always so embarrassed by it because it was impossible to cover. My pain went down slightly, but after a few months of bracing, we noticed that it wasn’t really helping.
[00:04:45] My
[00:04:46] Dr. Rita Roy: Stella’s curves had worsened to 42 degrees and 46 degrees by July of 2024.
[00:04:55] Stella Kinander: This was really frustrating given how much I was doing to prevent it. My pain increased in frequency and intensity, which made exercising and participating in sports difficult. Over the summer, I had gone to the gym consistently and hadn’t noticed much pain or limitations.
[00:05:12] I was lifting and doing the stair master mostly once. The school year started. I took a break from going because I was so busy. I resumed after a while, but everything I was doing made my back hurt so much. I wasn’t cheering at the time, but I had planned to go back during the competitive season, which is from December to February to help with my pain.
[00:05:32] I was recommended to go to physical therapy. We talked to someone who had scoliosis and had done pt, and they said that the pain relief was temporary. PT only helped it while they were actively involved in that.
[00:05:45] Dr. Rita Roy: After much consideration, Stella and her parents decided to move forward with spinal fusion surgery that would take place on December 13th, 2024.
[00:05:57] Stella Kinander: My mom and I met with Dr. FTAs in July of 2024, and he said that I was at the point where we should strongly consider surgery. Although my curve wasn’t as bad as most of your cases, I was in daily pain that was only getting worse. He said that by getting surgery now, I would be setting myself up for a better quality of life in the future.
[00:06:15] Although surgery was the best option in this case, he never made me feel like it was my only option. After all, it was a choice that my parents and I made based on what would be best for me. We ended up getting three other opinions, which left me even more conflicted. Some doctors were saying that they would avoid surgery until it’s absolutely necessary, and others were agreeing with the idea of surgery in the next year.
[00:06:37] This was an incredibly emotional decision. As of my junior year of high school, I’m only 16 years old, the surgery would force me to. Up the ability to tumble forever. Something that I was deeply passionate about and had been doing for years.
[00:06:51] Dr. Rita Roy: Despite the difficulty, Stella accepted the change and approach surgery with a positive mindset.
[00:06:59] Stella Kinander: I definitely didn’t feel like if fusion was my only option, but for some reason I felt like I’d be making a mistake if I decided against it. I didn’t wanna wait until it was absolutely necessary because who knows where in my life I would be and what it would be getting in the way of it was the ideal time.
[00:07:15] Time. The idea of waiting until later in my life scared me. I wanna go to medical school in the future, and how would I be able to pause that and have a major surgery? Although I would get over it, I was still very scared to have the surgery. I had no idea what to expect. I got in contact with a few people who have had fusions and talked back and forth about all my concerns and questions.
[00:07:36] There were a few times I felt like I was making the wrong decision or that I was going to ruin my life and never be able to live normally again. I knew that if I kept thinking this way. And be making the recovery 10 times harder.
[00:07:48] Dr. Rita Roy: On December 13th, Stella underwent an eight hour spinal fusion from T two to L three.
[00:07:55] She spent five days in the hospital relearning how to walk, sit up, lay down, and other basic tasks.
[00:08:05] Stella Kinander: I don’t remember much from the hospital, but I remember it being the weirdest feeling ever for the first day or two. Every time I moved slightly, I was in a lot of pain. Sleeping was the worst because I can never.
[00:08:15] Ever find a comfortable position? They had me stand up on the second day, and I remember feeling like it was the hardest task in the entire world. It felt like my brain and body were working against each other. On day five, I walked up 12 stairs on my own. I was so proud of myself knowing that I was already getting my strength back.
[00:08:33] I don’t really remember much more, but I just remember feeling like my independence was gone. I couldn’t do anything by myself, and I started feeling guilty, having to ask people to do everything for me when I got home. I was hit with Roblox that were harder than I expected. Every movement, it felt like my shoulder blades were being ripped outta my body.
[00:08:51] This went on for about a week and a half, and it was the hardest to sit up in a chair and I couldn’t lift my arms up at my head. There was one morning I decided to put on a hoodie because I wasn’t in a lot of pain and could lift my arms up. Later that night, I got super hot and had to take it off, but I was in so much pain that we had to cut it off.
[00:09:08] My body felt so different all the time. The pain was so specific that it’s hard to describe. I wasn’t used to. To being so straight up all the time. So it was definitely something I had to get used to
[00:09:20] Dr. Rita Roy: because of her recovery process. Stella had to miss a month of school after this time. She’s tended physical therapy regularly.
[00:09:30] Stella Kinander: I’m currently in PT now and it’s all basic strength stuff. This isn’t my first time at PT because I had a lot of injuries and gymnastics that made me a regular in the past. I hated going to physical therapy. Every time I went, it felt like the last thing I wanted to do. But this time it felt like I was actually improving in getting all my strength back.
[00:09:49] I enjoyed going every day because I knew I was a step closer to the finish line. The most frustrating part about surgery was that I had lost all of my body strength that I had been building up since I started gymnastics. It was so frustrating. Going to PT really made me feel like I was making a comeback and will be able to get back into the gym at some point.
[00:10:11] There were a few times I didn’t have a week of PT and would have a lot of pain and some rib. Places that frustrated me so much. I got scared thinking that the physical therapy wasn’t working, but I would just have to keep reminding myself that it’s all part of the process. Currently, I have very mild pain from time to time, which is way better than how I would feel in the months leading up to surgery.
[00:10:32] Although recovery was long and painful. I have no regrets. I can’t go back to cheerleading, but I have found a lot of enjoyment through swimming. I also plan to start running this summer, even though I’m only six months post-op. I can confidently say that I made the right decision for my physical and my mental health.
[00:10:50] Having a spinal fusion was the best decision I’ve ever made, and it revealed the strength. I never knew I had
[00:11:01] Dr. Rita Roy: Stella. Your story is incredible. My gosh. You, you said that this experience revealed a strength you never knew you had. Tell us more about that.
[00:11:13] Stella Kinander: I’ve always been the kind of person who is unsure to try new things or take risks. I always took the safe way out of things, so making this decision was different for me.
[00:11:22] I’ve always been injured a lot in the past, and I always feel like it was the worst thing that ever happened to me. I knew that if I kept that mindset during recovery, I would destroy my mental health. As hard as this was, I kept a positive attitude during the time in the hospital and pushed myself to stay on the road to recovery.
[00:11:40] Since I was home the entire month of January, I missed lots and lots of schoolwork. I had the choice to go pass fail this semester since it would be nearly impossible for me to catch up from home and keep my grades. But I wanted to prove to myself that I’m capable of maintaining the work. Every day for two and a half weeks, I sat at my desk and taught myself everything that my classmates were learning.
[00:12:00] It wasn’t easy and at times I just wanted to give up, but I came back to school, completely caught up in all of my work and ended up having a higher GP this semester than the last. Some of my teachers told me how amazed they were that I was able to go through this major surgery and be able to keep up in school.
[00:12:16] Hearing them say that was one of the be was one of the many things that made me realize hard work truly does pay off.
[00:12:23] Dr. Rita Roy: Wow, Stella, that is absolutely amazing and inspiring and I can’t help but think that giving yourself that challenge of keeping up with schoolwork maybe was somewhat of a distraction from, um, not, not that was distracting you, but just was kind of gave you something to, to fight for, right?
[00:12:43] Mm-hmm. That you’re gonna get through it and fight through it. Not saying that that’s easy, but I’m, I’m just absolutely. Blown away. Um, I know how hard that is. Mm-hmm.
[00:12:54] Stella Kinander: And
[00:12:54] Dr. Rita Roy: gosh, I’m, I’m looking you at, you at, on the screen as we’re talking here, and I just see this. Gorgeous, young, high schooler, vibrant, beautiful, healthy.
[00:13:07] You would never know what you went through six months ago. I mean, it just, I mean, talk about the power of powering through that. Um, you’ve just, you’ve done an amazing job. I’m, I’m so blown away. Thank you. Thank you. Can’t believe you kept up with school. That’s incredible. Thank you. Um, so excited to share this story and that, that just resilience and the grit that’s involved in that.
[00:13:30] Can you tell me some, some stories of what happened along the way? Like what were some days like that you just were like. What am I doing? I’m not, I’m gonna, I’m not doing this anymore. I quit. And, and then the other voice comes along and says, no, no, we’re not quitting. We’re doing this. Mm-hmm.
[00:13:44] Stella Kinander: Uh,
[00:13:45] Dr. Rita Roy: what was that like?
[00:13:46] Stella Kinander: Um, it was hard. It was definitely really hard. I would wake up some days and I. I was just sitting at my desk and homework already had taken me a really long time to do it when I was actually in school, but now it just was even longer because I was teaching myself everything and I had to, yeah, if I had any questions, like I couldn’t, I.
[00:14:07] Ask a teacher, there was no one right in front of me to ask. Yeah. So it was really hard at times. Atti, I just sometimes didn’t even feel like I was doing things right. And then I remember I would be going to bed and there was nights where I would just stay up like crying, thinking like, it’s kind of just all a cycle.
[00:14:24] Like I, I was kind of thinking like, when’s it gonna end? Like I wake up and then I just do the same thing and then I wake up and I do the same thing and it’s like. The weekend’s a break, but to me it’s the weekend I can actually catch up.
[00:14:37] Dr. Rita Roy: Yeah.
[00:14:37] Stella Kinander: So it felt very repetitive and it also just felt tiring and it felt like I was never gonna have a break.
[00:14:44] But in the end it definitely paid off.
[00:14:48] Dr. Rita Roy: Stella. During that time were you able to see your friends or, um. You know, interact with your friends. It’s a busy time when you’re a junior in high school.
[00:14:56] Stella Kinander: Mm-hmm.
[00:14:57] Dr. Rita Roy: Everyone’s busy doing things and
[00:14:59] Stella Kinander: mm-hmm.
[00:14:59] Dr. Rita Roy: You get a little fomo because you can’t do that. Yeah. And you’re kind of stuck at home powering through it.
[00:15:04] What was that like with your, your friends?
[00:15:07] Stella Kinander: Well, a lot of my friends actually came to visit me, so yeah, when I was in the hospital, um, two of my best friends came the day after and they brought me, they brought me gifts and stuff, which was super nice. And then a few days after that. Um, two or three more of my friends came and they visited me, but I don’t really remember the interactions too much.
[00:15:29] Right. And then when I was at home, my cousin, who’s like my best friend, came to visit me and then a bunch of my friends from school too, which was really nice. And it made me just feel so, I guess seen. Yeah. Like they really cared about me and it just made me feel so good. And it made the recovery definitely 10 times easier.
[00:15:47] Dr. Rita Roy: So important to have that community of support around you. Mm-hmm. And yeah, that feeling of, of being seen that you didn’t disappear, right? Mm-hmm. You didn’t, you’re still, you’re still there. You’re taking a slightly different Yeah. Diversion, slightly different path temporarily. Right. And it’s. It’s not gonna be forever, but
[00:16:05] Stella Kinander: mm-hmm.
[00:16:05] Dr. Rita Roy: The days, what do they say that the days are long? The, the month is short. The year is short. Yeah. But as you’re going through it, it feels like forever.
[00:16:13] Stella Kinander: Mm-hmm.
[00:16:14] Dr. Rita Roy: We’re talking a little bit about support system. I know that your parents, your mom has been with you on this journey. Um, I think it’s so important to have.
[00:16:23] That support around you and, and, and to be able to rely on friends and family when you’re going through something difficult.
[00:16:30] Stella Kinander: Mm-hmm. How
[00:16:31] Dr. Rita Roy: has that been, um, for your mom and for your family and, and what kinds of, uh, challenges or changes did your family go through as you were going through this?
[00:16:41] Stella Kinander: My parents definitely like, had it hard, they.
[00:16:47] Were really kind of struggling to like, accept this change. They just didn’t want to see their kid in pain. Yeah. Especially my dad. My dad was really, really hard on like making this decision. Mm-hmm. It, he didn’t wanna do it at first and he actually suggested that I take a gap year when I’m in college and then I do it.
[00:17:10] But my, both my mom and I didn’t like that idea and he just really didn’t like. He just really didn’t wanna see his daughter in so much pain. And then the day of the surgery, he was a mess. But it made me feel really like, I guess just loved and knowing that they’re there for me and I could not have done it without them.
[00:17:32] They were there for me. I every single step of the way, like my like. Parents slept in my room with me like every day after surgery, and that just made me feel really good.
[00:17:44] Dr. Rita Roy: Yeah, that’s Oh, such a blessing, you know, that, that highlights the difficult decision making that people have to go through. Right. And I think in your journey, you’ve talked about seeing a, a number of different doctors.
[00:17:58] Mm-hmm. Um. And, and I think that’s one of the challenges in spine, there’s no cookie cutter approach to spine care at any age. And so therefore you get different opinions and different options. Mm-hmm. Um, and, and everybody has to make the right treatment choice for themselves.
[00:18:17] Stella Kinander: Mm-hmm.
[00:18:17] Dr. Rita Roy: And it’s a very personal and individual.
[00:18:21] Decision.
[00:18:22] Stella Kinander: Mm-hmm.
[00:18:22] Dr. Rita Roy: And it’s, it’s, it’s made somewhat easier when you do have the wonderful love and support that you had with your family. Yeah. Can you talk to us a little bit about seeing the different surgeons and hearing different options and, and how that factored into your decision making?
[00:18:38] Stella Kinander: Yeah, so we ended up seeing three different doctors and all of them kind of.
[00:18:47] Different opinions on it, which made it a little harder to decide. The first one that we went to said that they would agree on doing surgery within the year, that it just seems like the right thing to do. And then the second one we went to. I agreed at first that surgery would be ideal at this time, but then I saw him again later on and he said that he would wait because you really wanna avoid surgery unless it’s absolutely necessary.
[00:19:17] But to me it kind of just felt like, like this is something that’s like not, but. I mean, I kind of already had the idea in my head and I was getting so many different opinions. It just made me feel like, does anyone really know what to do with the situation? And it was just hard to decide. And then the third doctor that I went to, I.
[00:19:40] Probably left me the most conflicted. She recommended there was like three different surgery options that we never even heard of, and we ended up just moving past those, kind of ignoring them because they didn’t really fit for my case. Mm-hmm. But she just said basically like. Unless I’m really worried about my image or like just the pain right now that I shouldn’t really get the surgery, but it kind of made me feel almost like guilty because like, yeah, like looking at myself in the mirror and seeing this big curve was really hard, but that wasn’t the sole reason why I wanted the surgery.
[00:20:21] It wasn’t the sole reason why I would be getting the surgery. Yeah.
[00:20:25] Dr. Rita Roy: And
[00:20:26] Stella Kinander: in the end it was for like, the better of myself now and in the future.
[00:20:30] Dr. Rita Roy: Yeah. Well, I, I love one of the things that you shared, Stella, is that, you know, getting this big procedure done, I. At a time in your life when you are home and you are supported and you are surrounded by your community and, you know, figuring that out.
[00:20:48] I mean, I, I was so impressed hearing you talk about coming to that realization. Mm-hmm. Um, and, and looking at your future and saying, I’m gonna need to have the surgery probably at some point. Maybe I should just do it now and then mm-hmm. I’ve got my whole life ahead of me. And that’s just, um, that’s, that’s heavy stuff.
[00:21:09] Mm-hmm. And you went through that beautifully. And it’s not easy. Those are hard decisions, but I just think that you approach that with such a level of maturity and, um, that’s, that’s commendable. That’s amazing. You know, Stella, nobody can feel. The pain that you feel. Mm-hmm. And going through that physical pain every day limiting you from being able to fully participate in life, that those are real issues that you deal with every day, that propel you to make a decision to say, no, I, okay.
[00:21:51] I might not be able to do. The gymnastics, tumbling and cheerleading. But I am gonna be able to do a lot of other things. Mm-hmm.
[00:21:59] Stella Kinander: And I
[00:21:59] Dr. Rita Roy: wanna do them. And I want to be fully involved in life. I wanna show up for life. Mm-hmm. And I’ve gotta get this taken care of. Right. Mm-hmm. That’s great stuff. I think the, you know, the, let’s, let’s talk a little bit about the curvature and the physicality of that curvature.
[00:22:17] You said that you felt a little bit guilty in thinking, I don’t wanna look bent, I don’t wanna look like I’ve got a curve I wanna look even and, and you should feel completely validated and wanting to Yeah. To feel that way.
[00:22:29] Stella Kinander: Yeah.
[00:22:31] Dr. Rita Roy: I think that, um. You know, if you’re seeing a healthcare provider who, who is making you feel guilty about any decision that you’re making wisely, that’s not a great fit for you, right?
[00:22:44] Mm-hmm. And I think picking the surgeon has to be someone who you feel confident with. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. So of, of the. Many doctors that you saw, the one that you chose was somebody who you felt the most confident with. Explain that decision making to us. Yeah. And share that with us.
[00:23:04] Stella Kinander: Yeah. Well, from the start, Dr.
[00:23:05] Fta always kind of just made me feel like I had many options and that this wasn’t something that like I should feel guilty about. Mm-hmm. Now the other doctors did, like, I did trust all of them, but there was just something about Dr. Fontes that made me feel like this would be the best decision. He was close to where I live and just I had been seeing him from the start, so he really does know my case.
[00:23:33] Yeah, and I just think it’s important, like having someone who really understands it and just making you feel comfortable.
[00:23:39] Dr. Rita Roy: Right. Yeah. Yeah. So, so important. Having that rapport with your doctor is really, really important. You trust, you feel comfortable, you feel confident.
[00:23:51] Stella Kinander: Mm-hmm.
[00:23:51] Dr. Rita Roy: That’s so great, Stella.
[00:23:53] There’s, there’s public misconception about most spine issues out there and even, even health issues in general. I think there’s a lot of confusion that people have and, and people think that health issues and spine issues. Really only happen as you age and when you get older, but you are evidence that anybody at any age can develop a spine issue and sometimes for unknown reasons.
[00:24:21] Stella, tell us what that was like for you going through all of this at such a young age and and what advice you would give to other kids or teenagers who are going through issues.
[00:24:34] Stella Kinander: When I first realized that I needed surgery, it felt like my life would never be the same and I would never be able to do the things that I love to do anymore.
[00:24:42] I’m a super active person. Cheerleading and tumbling were literally my entire personality in my eyes. There was no me without the ability to do a back tuck at any given moment. I remember thinking to myself in the months leading up to surgery, why me? I was only 16. I was super active, and the surgery would be completely ending.
[00:25:01] All the activities I found the most joy in. I wish I could go back and tell that girl how wrong she was. I assumed that for the next year after surgery, I’ll be in pain and be so miserable, but it wasn’t like that at all. At the moment, I wish that this had happened to me later in life, but I learned that everything happens exactly when it’s supposed to.
[00:25:21] You may not realize it at first, but you have to go through things to find who you are. Maybe the surgery will be ending my ability to cheer and tumble. That was gonna have to end at some point. The world is full of so many possibilities and you can’t limit yourself to the same thing forever. Everything is so hard before it’s easy.
[00:25:40] This gave me the opportunity to share my story and help others who are going through the same thing and who are struggling to accept it. To any kids or teenagers going through this, just know it’s okay to be scared. It may seem scary at the moment, but in the end you’ll realize that it’ll all be worth it.
[00:25:56] You’re going to show yourself how strong you really are, and you’ll have a super cool story to tell people. It’s really important to talk to people if you’re scared, and the best advice I could give is to talk to someone who’s done this before. Talking to a girl just like me who had a spinal fusion, gave me so much reassurance and motivation.
[00:26:13] Dr. Rita Roy: That is such great advice, Stella. And that’s what we’re doing here on the podcast is we’re getting the messages out, we’re sharing these stories with the world, um, so that people can hear the good news. Um, not saying that it’s easy, I. It’s been hard, and those first few days and weeks after surgery were tough and you’re still going through recovery.
[00:26:36] Um, as, as we’re talking getting stronger and stronger and participating in physical therapy, it’s not an easy journey. Mm-hmm. Um. But there’s so many rewards that come along the way that you’ve shared. Mm-hmm. That’s neat that you got to talk to someone else. Um, yeah. How did you find that person to talk to?
[00:26:55] Stella Kinander: It’s actually pretty funny. So one of my best friends obviously knew that I was gonna be getting surgery and like what was going on, and her mom’s sister’s friend’s daughter had a spinal fusion and they live. Like super far away. But she texted me and she was like, I can get you in contact if you want and I’ll be, and I said, well, that would be amazing because Uhhuh, I don’t really know many people who’ve had a spinal fusion.
[00:27:24] And just talking to someone else who. Has had it, I feel like would give me a lot more reassurance and just would calm a lot of my worries because this is super new to me. And so she got me in contact and that girl I think is one or two years younger than me and she was super nice. Wow. She answered every single one of my questions and her story was just amazing too.
[00:27:49] And she actually said that after she had it, she kind of did something similar to me. She went on like a few like. I think support groups and like reach out to people who are going through it and has helped so many other people, and I just found that super inspiring and just amazing.
[00:28:07] Dr. Rita Roy: Yeah. That is awesome.
[00:28:08] And it’s so amazing to get that kind of support. Mm-hmm. And again, I’m just so grateful that you are sharing your story with us today. You know, June is, uh, scoliosis Awareness Month. Mm-hmm. And, um, that’s coming up here soon as we’re recording this. And we’re excited to be able to share your story across all of our, our digital platforms.
[00:28:27] Uh, yeah. This coming Scoliosis Awareness Month.
[00:28:30] Stella Kinander: Yeah.
[00:28:30] Dr. Rita Roy: Stella, how did you find the National Spine Health Foundation?
[00:28:34] Stella Kinander: I’ve been actually just kind of looking for things to like get my story out or just help other people who are going through something similar. And the National Spine Health Organization was the first thing to come up and I looked on it and I saw like just seeing all the people who have shared their story and have like a bunch of just different stories about spine health in general, not even just scoliosis, which is super amazing and.
[00:29:02] That’s kind of what started my desire to be on there.
[00:29:07] Dr. Rita Roy: We’re so glad you found us. And I think that also is interesting that people do go to the internet to find information, right? Mm-hmm. And And did you use the internet a lot when you were going through your journey? Was that something that you turned to for information?
[00:29:24] Stella Kinander: Yes and no. I think more of just the technical stuff. Mm-hmm. I was looking online, but all of the stuff about like how the recovery was like, and like personal, I guess, about the recovery. I wasn’t really sure who to talk to or who to. Yeah. Ask about that because. No one really talks about the recovery, how it is or what to expect.
[00:29:49] Mm-hmm. And so getting in contact with someone who has been through that was super, super, super helpful. But I think it’s super important to have, like podcasts like this, we talk about it and just places online that share people’s stories and what they went through in. Because it could just help so many people.
[00:30:08] Dr. Rita Roy: Yeah, for sure. Um, we say at the National Spine Health Foundation that we give real stories mm-hmm. Of healing and recovery and it’s, there’s nothing more powerful than hearing other people mm-hmm. Share their story because. You know, no one’s trying to sell anything or promote anything. Yeah. They’re just sharing the, the story and, and wanting to help other people get through it.
[00:30:33] Stella Kinander: Yeah.
[00:30:33] Dr. Rita Roy: And, and it’s like paying it forward. Someone helped you and then mm-hmm. You wanna, you wanna be able to help the next person. Yeah. I myself went through a spine journey and I remember as I was going through it, I was a mom. Mm-hmm. And I was worried about how I was gonna manage my family and my kids.
[00:30:49] Yeah. And, and so I wanted to talk to other moms and Yeah. And I just, just really struggled to find mm-hmm. People that I could talk to who’d been through what I was about to go through.
[00:31:00] Stella Kinander: Yeah. And it
[00:31:00] Dr. Rita Roy: really is so comforting and helpful and reassuring
[00:31:05] Stella Kinander: mm-hmm.
[00:31:05] Dr. Rita Roy: To know you’re gonna get through it and, mm-hmm.
[00:31:08] Know just how to manage bumps along the way, little bumps in the road, and just knowing that little things will happen. You’re not fragile, you’re gonna heal. Yeah. That was my biggest thing. I was always afraid I was gonna ruin my surgery.
[00:31:20] Stella Kinander: Mm-hmm.
[00:31:20] Dr. Rita Roy: Like, ah, I can’t, I can’t move. And my physical therapist would say, you are not fragile, you are strong.
[00:31:27] You are gonna heal, you’re gonna be great. So I just, you know, you just need to hear that from people. Exactly. And from smart people who know what they’re talking about. Yeah. Uh, I’m so glad you found us. It’s, it’s, it’s great. Stella, if you could go through this journey again, would you change anything about it?
[00:31:48] Stella Kinander: No, I think that I was super lucky to have set myself up really good leading up to surgery, and I got in contact, like I said, with multiple people who have gone through this and just talking to them really inspired me and calmed all my worries and I. Like I said, it was just something that was a hard decision, but I’m really happy that I went through it.
[00:32:11] Dr. Rita Roy: Yeah. And so Stella, you’ve had all this contact with the medical community.
[00:32:18] Stella Kinander: Mm-hmm.
[00:32:18] Dr. Rita Roy: And you are now thinking that you would like to go into medicine one day? Yeah. Tell me about that a little bit.
[00:32:24] Stella Kinander: Yeah, so I’ve always kind of known that something I wanna do would be towards the medical field. I think. I kind of got that idea in my head when I was in like seventh grade, which is crazy.
[00:32:37] And people, you know, people ask like, oh, what do you wanna do when you’re older? And it’s kind of a typical like, oh, doctor or lawyer, or like. Scientist Uhhuh. And when I would tell people, oh, I wanna be a surgeon, they’d be like, oh, that’s cute. And then when I really get older and people, same people are asking me, what do you wanna do?
[00:32:57] And it’s like, oh, I wanna be a surgeon. It’s like, oh wow, you’re serious about that. And I just think that having a passion like that for so long has just really like, I guess confirmed it. And then going through actual surgery myself also that like. I was so interested in learning all the details and all the specifics about it.
[00:33:21] Like almost like I wasn’t even the patient. Wow. Like it was somebody else. And it was just really cool. I liked, I definitely enjoyed the learning process along the way. Mm-hmm. And yeah, I think it just being able to help people in that way and improving people’s quality of life is something that I really wanna do when I’m older.
[00:33:42] Dr. Rita Roy: That’s amazing. And I think the fact that you’ve been a patient makes you an even more compassionate provider. You’ll be able to relate to your patients in a way that mm-hmm. You wouldn’t have if you didn’t Yeah. Have the surgery. Yeah. And that’s, that’s amazing. Well, I wish you the best of luck. I trained as a surgeon and, um, you know, I can say that it is, it is a long journey.
[00:34:07] Mm-hmm. But I know you’re up for it. I’ve seen what you can do. If you can do that when you’re 16, you can, you can make it through med school and become a surgeon. And I, I know that you’ve got the intelligence and the grit and the resilience. And the compassion and the heart to serve other people. And it takes all those things to be a great surgeon.
[00:34:32] And I see that. I’m so excited. Thank you. When I meet young people who wanna pursue this, this long journey and it’s, it’s a journey that’s worth doing. So yeah, we are cheering for you here at the Nationals Health Foundation. Thank you. And, uh, and we, we have a nice internship program here, so we’re we’ll keep in touch after this, uh, podcast.
[00:34:52] Yeah. Stella, thank you so, so much for joining us and sharing your powerful story with such honesty and such heart. At just 16, you have shown remarkable strength, resilience, and maturity facing life challenges and life changing decisions with courage. Choosing to see opportunity where others might see limitation.
[00:35:16] That is awesome. You have proven that while the spine journey can be a tough one, can also be very motivating and enlightening. And even when we have to let go of something we love, it really just makes room for something new.
[00:35:35] At the National Spine Health Foundation, something we believe in most is providing hope for recovery. Through sharing stories of success and expertise, it isn’t always easy to find someone to relate to, even though a hundred million people suffer from neck or low back pain every year. To hear more stories of spinal champion recovery and access educational materials about spine health, visit us@spinehealth.org.
[00:36:02] If you’re interested in supporting our show financially, you can contribute at the link provided. Thank you for listening.