Personal Narrative: My Life As A College Athlete

As a child, I dreamt of playing in the Women’s National Basketball Association after I graduated from college. To this day, I would still be pursuing that dream if it weren’t for my current medical condition. Growing up, I had a passion for basketball. I would participate in school competitions and attend basketball camps. Near the end of my fifth grade year though, my mom noticed that my shoulders were uneven. The week after school had ended, my mom took me to my pediatrician.

In one of the clinic’s cold rooms, I stood anxiously as my pediatrician examined me.

It was scary not knowing what was about to change my life. “You have scoliosis.” My pediatrician announced after her diagnosis. “What is sco-li-o-sis?” I tried to pronounce, familiar

My spine is not straight? What does this mean? What will happen next? How will this affect my future? These thoughts ran through my mind, for the concept of not being like other “normal” kids was quite large for an eleven year old to understand. My pediatrician prescribed that I wear a back brace to help straighten my spine. Soon after the visit to my pediatrician, my mom and I visited the orthopedic doctor to get my back brace. In order to figure out how my brace needed to be shaped, I needed to have an X-ray taken. An X-ray. Never before had I had one. I slowly walked into the warm X-ray room, afraid of this new experience. “Please stand in front of this.” A nurse guided me to a strange panel on the wall which had a bright projection of a t-shape on its surface. I walked over, knees wobbling, and stood in front of the panel. The t-shape seemed to press down into my chest and grasp my breath. The small room appeared to close in on me. I felt my heart pounding against my chest. I began to sweat. As the X-ray took place, however, I did not really feel anything, but I knew enough from science class that bits of radiation were being consumed by my