Today the story I have to share with you is very inspiring and filled with great persistence! I won't write too much to avoid spoilers, because I'm sure Karoline's account of her life will enchant you with a curved spine. But are we talking about idiopathic or congenital scoliosis?
Let's find out!
"My name is Karoline Santos da Silva, born on May 8, 1996, daughter of Claudia Santos da Silva, raised by my grandmother Maria Conceição dos Santos, without a father. My scoliosis was discovered when I was 12 years old, while my mother and I were at her boss's house at the time, who was a doctor. He noticed a protrusion in my spine when I bent down to pick up an object. After a brief evaluation, he advised us to visit his office the next day, as he suspected I had scoliosis. We followed his advice, and after re-evaluating me, he referred me to a public health system (SUS) doctor who confirmed idiopathic scoliosis (without a defined cause).
Over the years, I consulted with 10 orthopedists through SUS, who informed me that my scoliosis was indeed idiopathic and non-surgical. At 16, I started using my first custom-molded orthopedic brace. At 17, I used the second brace. However, we saw no curve improvement, only a worsening of scoliosis. At 18, we concluded that the brace was not effective, and since I was already working at the time, I started paying for private medical consultations. One of the doctors I visited in Sergipe, to whom I brought the already-taken imaging exams, evaluated me and also said that my scoliosis was idiopathic, emphasizing that my case remained non-surgical. At that time, my curves were at 89 degrees in the lumbar and 79 in the thoracic.
At 19, I gave up on all doctors, no longer believing in any opinion. So, I entered the health field, started studying to become a Nursing Technician, and began a deeper search about scoliosis, its causes, development, and impacts, to understand what was happening to me. Finally, I understood what I had and became even more demotivated. It was then that I decided to pursue higher education in Nursing, where I met many medical students and could exchange information and clarify doubts about this condition. With that, my motivation returned, and I prayed to God to bring a doctor into my life who could see my exams and tell me that my case had a solution. I was already very twisted, my clothes were no longer comfortable, and I was so hunched over that I didn't tie my hair anymore to hide from society because of the prejudices I faced. Even with all that, I decided to break the barrier and think that I had to accept myself and that others had to accept me. I started looking for some orthopedic doctors on Instagram, and Dr. Vinicius Benites replied to me 3 minutes after I sent all my exams. Even without seeing me in person, he told me something that contradicted everything I had heard until that time: my scoliosis was congenital (present from birth), and my case was surgical.
I had set in my heart that I wanted to undergo surgery with Dr. Vinicius due to all the work I followed on social media, but since he operates privately, I didn't have the financial means to undergo surgery with him at that time. In the face of this, I was advised to join the national health plan UNIMED and wait for a two-year waiting period to pay only the doctor's fees. I dedicated myself and tightened my finances a lot to be able to save money for doctors and pay for health insurance. Being from a very humble family, I had no family support, not because they didn't want to, but because it wasn't possible. Alone and with all the strength in the world, I saved my money to pay for the plan and the doctors, and after two years of waiting, the long-awaited surgery with Dr. Vinicius came. We knew it was a major and complex operation, but I was sure that he was the one I wanted to entrust my spine to. I traveled to São Paulo alone with a tight budget for the ticket, medications, and treatment, and on December 2, 2022, I finally underwent surgery for my scoliosis.
At the Orthopedic Hospital of AACD, I had all the necessary support from the technical team. My special thanks to Joaquim, who will stay in my memory forever. When it was time to go to the operating room, I was happy, I was at peace because I was sure that it was what I wanted and that God had prepared for me. I always had a lot of faith and was convinced that everything would be fine. Already lying on the stretcher to move to the operating table, Dr. Vinicius entered the room, and I remember my last words to him: - make me healthy, restore my health, please. Make me beautiful!
After more than 12 hours of surgery (it started at 6:20 in the morning and ended at 8:30 at night), I woke up very happy despite the pain and discomfort. The worst day of pain was the second, but I always thought it would pass because I am strong and also because God was with me, supporting me. To help, I also had video calls with my family, friends, boyfriend, and colleagues. In addition, my doctor never abandoned me. He and his team visited me every day for the eight days I stayed at AACD. After that, I stayed in São Paulo recovering for a few more days, and on December 20, I returned to Aracaju, returning to work in mid-January, extremely satisfied with my surgery.
Today, I feel happier, and more grateful, and with a strong desire to live! I would go through it all again because, for me, it was beautiful, it was magical, it was like a movie. I only have thanks to give today, after a little over a year of being operated, at 27 years old, with 22 screws in my spine. It was never easy, but I never gave up. It's important to emphasize that my grandmother always supported me and never let go of my hands."
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Do you want to discover more inspirational life stories? Check out all the testimonials we have published here on this blog.
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