My Story of Scoliosis

Today I am going to share a story with you-my story. Even though it's mostly a story about physical problems, if you look closely, it is also a story about God's provision and grace.
When I was 10 years old I was diagnosed with idiopathic juvenile scoliosis. Basically, I was growing so fast that my spine couldn't keep up, and as a result it was ending up curved instead of straight. Obviously, this can cause some pretty serious problems if not treated. My parents decided to have my treatment at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, even though it was a 2-1/2-hour drive. (By the way, I loved Mayo Clinic.)
At my first appointment, we found out from the x-rays that I had a 27 degree curve. The doctor recommended bracing me. He normally wouldn't recommend that on the first visit, but my scoliosis was already progressed enough that bracing was needed immediately. So I was fitted for my first back brace. I wore a back brace for the next 4 years. It was not easy! I had to wear the brace for 20-23 hours a day, taking it off for bathing or sports, and/or an hour or so break a day. I was able to take it off myself, but had to have someone to help me put it on.
Having a brace was hard. I could do normal things when it was off, but after having it off for too long, my back got extremely sore. It was hard for me to go to sleepovers or summer camp. And because of the design of my brace, my posture was always crooked with 1 shoulder higher than the other-something that didn't look very nice in pictures.
Wearing the brace was sometimes painful, especially during the adjustment period. There was an initial adjustment period, when I adjusted to wearing the brace. There were also 2 other adjustment periods when I had to adjust to a new brace after outgrowing the one I was in. Even though a long undershirt is worn under the brace, sometimes sores can still develop on the skin. So we had rub my skin with rubbing alcohol to toughen it up. We were told that the first 2 weeks would probably be the worst-because of the adjustment period. Remarkably, those first 2 weeks were really not bad at all. I know it is because I had so many people praying for me. My diagnosis was quite a surprise to my family, so our church family was remembering us in prayer.
The hardest time for me was adjusting from my first to my second brace. It was extremely painful. That second brace continued to give me problems-it had not been formed right, so it ended up applying pressure to the wrong spots, creating some bad sore spots. Eventually we had to have a third brace that was formed correctly, but I was left with 2 scars (a small one on my upper back, and a much larger and worse one on my lower back) that I still have to this day.
But in the end, God worked it all out to his glory. You will remember my original x-ray showed a curve of 27 degrees. Now, bracing is not meant to correct a curve, only to keep it from getting worse. A very good brace wearer may, at best, correct their curve by 1 or 2 degrees. But after 4 years, my final x-rays showed a curve of only 11 degrees! I know that through so many people's prayers, God had decided to work a miracle. He had basically healed my scoliosis, as a curve is not even considered scoliosis unless it is higher than 10 degrees. The doctors were amazed and pleased.
After I was done wearing the brace I still had some things to work through. My back was weak after so many years of being supported by a brace. I had some physical therapy exercises to strengthen it. But through exercises, my karate classes, and God's healing, I now do not have those problems.
Today, even though it was extremely painful and difficult, I am so thankful that God gave me scoliosis and used me to show how he can do anything. Don't ever doubt Him! I am a living testimony that He answers prayers.

I'm Still Here!!!

What's up readers? My summer has been so busy but also amazing. God has done some great things. I'm currently trying to find a home-based medical transcriptioning job, teaching piano to 3 different students, continuing to write when I can, reading some great books (you should check out How to Win Friends and Influence People), helping my mom out around the house (cleaning, laundry, and even cooking!!), checking my brother's English, playing piano (I just set a new goal to learn a 19-page song. It's gonna take a while.), doing karate, helping out with kids' classes at karate, getting ready to start teaching a new Bright Lights class at church, and doing some physical therapy to deal with a knee issue. So I've been great!! I have a question for all of you readers: What would you like me to write about next? I'm open to suggestions. :)

Award

~Thank the person who gave you the award
~Tell seven things about yourself
~Award other bloggers whose blogs inspire you!
~Contact the other bloggers, and let them know that they have received the award!
 Thank you for the award Hannah!! 


1. I love writing. I want to be an author someday soon.
2. More than almost anything in this life, I want to be a wife and mother someday.
3. I'm a certified lifeguard, but I've never officially worked as a lifeguard.
4. We've always had dogs, but I love big dogs the best.
5. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE martial arts. I've been in the same club for almost 7 years, and it is the oldest club in my state.
6. I will soon be graduating from an online school and will hopefully get a job working form home as a medical transcriptionist.
7. I was diagnosed with scoliosis at the age of 10. 


I would like to award: Tahirah.

Interview with Brooke

This is a repost from Becoming Abigail, written by my dear friend Tahirarh. She asked some very hard questions, but I had a lot of fun!!

The Long Awaited Interview with Miss Brooke is here!!! Brooke is truly an exceptional young woman. Her love for God is palpable and she is an inspiration to me and my family. Enjoy!

1. How have you enjoyed homeschooling?

I have immensely enjoyed homeschooling; I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. :)

2. Would you homeschool your children if you have any?

Absolutely! I plan on homeschooling any and all future children that I have.

3. What are the common negative comments you get about homeschooling?

I believe the most common comments that I have heard, either personally or from other homeschooling families, are: homeschoolers are not socialized, homeschoolers wouldn’t get an opportunity to play sports, and that homeschoolers are sheltered.

4. What are your responses to these comments?

First, most of the homeschoolers I know are very well socialized. They are especially good at communicating and socializing with people who are not their age. Many public school kids make lots of friends their own age, but many homeschooler befriend people outside of their own age range. For myself, I know many of my friends have been two or more years younger than me, and as much as 18 years older than me.

In regards to sports, homeschoolers have just as much opportunity to play as public schoolers. I have been involved in martial arts since I was 12 and am currently a black belt, my brother does tumbling and trampolining; I know homeschoolers who played soccer, basketball, baseball, wrestling, football, swimming, etc. I even know a homeschooler who was the Iowa Gymnastic State Champion.

As a matter of fact, homeschoolers are sheltered. But they are sheltered from the negative influences of the world. So it is not a sheltering that anyone should fear. :)

5. Why did you decide to be a stay-at-home-daughter?

I started reading some blogs about SAHDs. Everything I read made a lot of sense, and was backed up by scriptures. As I was already planning on living at home for some time after graduation, it wasn’t too big of a stretch to a SAHD. Most of the things I read really made sense, both physically and spiritually, and I felt convicted to be a stay at home daughter. For me, I believe it is the right thing to do.

6. How do you plan to fill your days as a SAHD?

Well, I am currently attending an online school, so I plan to graduate from that. I plan to work from home part-time as a medical transcriptionist; I plan to teach piano lessons; I plan to write, because I dream of being a writer, and possibly publish some of my work; and I plan to work on homemaking skills to prepare for having my own family someday.

7. Why have you chosen courtship as a way to get to know a suitor?

With 50% of all marriages in this country, yes even Christian ones, ending in divorce, something must be done. I believe courtship is that something. I believe the traditional dating relationships are not working. Courtship is a way to get to know a suitor without becoming too invested emotionally; it enables you to continue to guard your heart, something that is harder to do in a dating relationship.

8. Why have you chosen to save your first kiss for marriage?

I have chosen to save my first kiss for marriage, and that is a personal commitment. Not all may feel led to do this, but I feel that I have. Someday when I get married, I want to be able to present myself to my husband and say, “Here I am. I’ve never given myself to another, not even in the smallest way. I have saved myself for you.” How special will it be to have my first kiss, first time to hold hands, etc., with the man that I marry?

9. How does the word of God inform your decision to save your first kiss for marriage?

God’s word speaks many times about purity. Purity is important to God. Marriages are also important to God. His word tells us to treat young men as brothers in the Lord. I believe that by saving my first kiss until my wedding day, it is a way that I can take purity seriously, help my marriage to start off well, and treat other young men I may meet in a pure way.

10. Have you endured persecution for your choices?

Wow. I think I could write an entire blog post on this question alone. I’ll try not to though. ;) Yes, I have endured persecution for my choices. As early as 14 years old, I was struggling with this persecution. My best friend abandoned me, two other girls ignored and excluded me. Outings were planned and I was deliberately not invited. All because I was homeschooled, and so I was “different.” Several years later, one of the same girls came back into my life. I thought perhaps things would be different, but I was again eventually pushed away. A young woman that I respected deleted our Facebook friendship, left argumentative comments on this blog, and in other ways hurt me, simply because I had chosen to state what I believed in about purity, courtship, etc. Our relationship was basically ruined, and I never said a negative word to her. And friends, these examples were all within the church! Because of these things, I have struggled with acceptance and rejection.

Sadly, I have even see this translate over to the blogging world. I have to continually be sure that I write what I believe and feel, even if some people might not agree. That is part of what inspired me to write “I Don’t Fit in a Box.” I wanted people to know who I really am, and not look at me as something I’m not. That’s another goal I have with my new blog, True Love’s Kiss. My goal is to write as truly and honestly as I possibly can. To be “real” with my readers. Rejection will probably come, but hopefully some people will see my honesty and accept me for that.

11. What gives you hope to live faithfully through this life?

My hope is in Christ, and the eternal salvation that He has promised. I wait on Him.

12. If you could give other young women or girls advice on how to wait on God, what advice would that be?

Pray. Just pray, a lot. I’m telling this to myself as well. It can be very hard to wait, but in the end it will be worth it. God has a Master Plan. We just need to trust him with that. If we are willing to wait for God’s best, I know in the end we will all feel completely overwhelmed that he works everything out so perfectly. Find other like-minded young women who are also waiting. Wait together, encourage each other. Find an older woman who has “been there, done that” to encourage you. Read scriptures about waiting. Read books written by other young women about waiting. Above all, realize this, your life is not about getting married, having children, or whatever else you are waiting for. Your life is about serving God, in whatever way he calls you to do that.

Hello! And a Little History...

Hello bloggers. This is officially my first post here. I wanted to give you a little bit of history. This is not my first time in the blogging world. For about the last 6 months, I have been blogging with my good friend at Becoming Abigail. While I will still be blogging there occasionally, I have decided to strike out on my own a little.

So, what will I be blogging about? Well I'm glad you asked! ;) I will mostly be blogging about topics and issues that are near and dear to my heart. A few of those would be courtship, homeschooling, purity, family, Biblical womanhood, and many more! Sometimes you'll also see some of my poetry and/or stories.

There is one more thing I would like to mention here, which is the reason behind the name of my blog. Well, it took me a long time to come up with a name for my blog. I told all my friends and family to think of names to help me out. I wrote down tons of different names on a piece of paper. I scoured the dictionary; I searched the thesaurus. Still, I couldn't come up with a name that I loved. That piece of paper sat there, mocking me! It was driving me crazy. But when I finally came up with this name and decided on it, I knew it was perfect. I love fairy tales. You know, the prince and the princess, happily ever afters, and true love's kiss. I strongly believe in saving my first kiss for my wedding day. In fact, I started a fan page on Facebook called "Saving Your First Kiss for Marriage." It currently has over 8,000 fans! God has certainly done some amazing things with that page. So for all those reasons, I knew I had the perfect name. :) I hope you enjoy the blog.

~Brooke