Boston teen who had life ‘turned upside down’ by scoliosis diagnosis now supporting people around the world with condition

It was in September 2015 when Chantelle McGarry, 16, was told she had adolescent idiopathic scoliosis – an abnormal curvature of the spine that appears in late childhood or adolescence.

“Personally I had never heard of scoliosis,” she said. “I didn’t know anyone with it and had no information on it – surprising as statistics say it affects around two-three per cent of the population!”

Come May 2016, and Chantelle was having spinal fusion surgery.

“[It was] something that petrified me, but I didn’t have a great deal of choice on due to limited treatment options for scoliosis,” she said.

The six-and-a-half-hour procedure involved two metal rods, 12 screws, and two hooks being put into Chantelle’s back to straighten her spine.

“I was very lucky in the fact I recovered well and coped well with my initial recovery,” she said. “However, now at four years post-fusion my life consists of pretty much constant pain in my back which is a result of the scoliosis and fusion, and does affect my daily life more than I would like.”

However, Chantelle has found a way of using her experience to help others.

“When I was 10 months post-op I decided to set up a scoliosis Instagram to offer support to those going through a similar situation, so that they were able to have someone to relate to – something I didn’t have,” she said.

The account (www.instagram.com/scoliosis_girl_96/) has almost 1,000 followers based around the world.

“This account has helped me grow as a person, it’s given me the drive to raise awareness for a condition that affects myself and so many others, yet nobody knows about; it’s helped my confidence in myself grow and meant I have met so many incredible people.

“Although scoliosis doesn’t, and never will define me, it has helped shape me into a much better person than I could have been without such a dreadful experience. I now spend a lot of time trying to improve my knowledge on scoliosis, share information and fundraising for the charities that have impacted my personal journey.”

Chantelle is promoting scoliosis home checks to aid early diagnosis and recommends visiting zoesscoliosischeck.com and tinyurl.com/y5lbeo23

Her father Shaun said: “Chantelle was always a very healthy little girl and it was a massive shock when she was diagnosed. As parents we have always wondered how we did not see the signs earlier.

“From the first meeting with her consultant, Mr. Ashley Cole, at Sheffield Children’s Hospital (SCH), Chantelle was amazingly calm and matter of fact about the treatment plan, taking it all in her stride.

“We knew nothing about scoliosis when she was first diagnosed and we all went on a steep learning curve reading about the illness. The hospital put us in touch with some other parents and children that had been treated by the team at SCH, and we found talking to them was a great help.

“The day after her operation she was back on her feet, took her first few steps, and sat in a chair for over an hour. The physio team were amazed as how quickly she progressed and we were able to bring her home days ahead of schedule because of her determination and strength of character.

“Her friends and school were amazingly supportive which enable her to get back to school quicker and they have continued to be supportive, providing Chantelle with the help she needed when it was needed.

“Chantelle decided to use her experience to help many other young people with Scoliosis through her social media accounts. Despite the ongoing pain and discomfort she suffers she decided to set herself the challenge of walking 3 miles a day throughout June to raise funds for charities that supported us and continue to support many other sufferers.”

He added: “As parents we are immensely proud of how Chantelle has coped with this illness which does and will continue to affect her throughout her life. In a time when teenage girls are more aware of their body and looks she has never tried to hide her scar and is an inspiration to many other sufferers.”