I have brought you all here today to open up about something that has been a part of me for...forever, but really only discovered circa 2009. Yes, I did make a discovery. A discovery of pain, a new kind of doctor, and a very good x-ray for show and tell!
What can this be? Spina Bifida Oculta of course!! Well that's a mouthful ain't it? Yeeep. That was my first thought as I was brought to the attention of my newly disabled status. What do those three little words mean? Well let me tell you!
Spina Bifida is a birth defect where the vertebrae of your spine does not completely ocify( the bone doesn't grow in all the way) leaving a hole where the bone should be.
There are three types of spina bifida.
1. Myelomeningocele is the most serious. In this case more than one vertebrae is missing, aka paralysis and horrible side effects like that.
2. Spina Bifida Meningocele is the rarest. In this case, the actual membranes and nervous tissue are exposed and sticking out of the hole in the spine, but can usually be surgically fixed.
3. Spina Bifida Oculta(That's me!!) is the most minor of the three (praise the Lord!). Usually people don't even know they have this unless they randomly see it in and x-ray, or they get into a car accident like me.
So here I am, just going along with life when all of a sudden I can't even bend over 10 degrees! And from not being able to bend over for a few months, let me tell you people bend over a lot! It is very useful.
After having shooting pain up my spine every time I leaned forward an inch for months, I finally got my dad to let me visit the chiropractor. Now, I don't have a picture of my x-ray to whip out, but I found a replacement that will give you the basic idea.
Dr. Adams(my now regularly attended chiro) showed me something that basically looks like this, only my affected vertebrae is higher up. As you can see, there is a small space where the bone should be.
How am I still dealing with this new part of my life you may ask?? Well, for the most part I'm every bit as normal as anyone with a normal spine give or take a few ice packs here and there. I'm stiff in the mornings, but I am still able to play sports and exercise regularly if I'm not too sore. And it's a good reason to not gain weight (because my spine can't handle it!)
The only disadvantage is that I am required to stand in art classes....but I can't. Soo yeah, I'm sitting down because I have to not because I batted my eyes at a professor (gross).
Hope you guys enjoyed the medical lecture!
to all you normal spines out there, take care! Because as my chiro says, "You have check ups at the dentist for your teeth, and you should have check ups for your spine!"
Katherine ^_^
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