June is scoliosis awareness month, and a little over a month from now I will mark the two year anniversary of my spinal fusion surgery.

I walked into the hospital on July 3 two years ago, not scared of something going wrong during my surgery, but knowledgeable about what was going to happen while I was under anesthesia, and anxious to see my X-rays after it was all said and done.

During a seven and a half hour operation, my surgeons fused my spine from the third thoracic vertebrae to the fourth lumbar vertebrae with titanium rods, leaving me with a 15-inch scar.

I spent a week in the hospital, where I relearned how to walk, using a cane or walker for support.

Once I was released, I sat at home, taking pain medication for the first few days and trying to regain my strength.

By summer’s end, I returned to school stronger and taller than ever. A year later, I started high school as a freshman and joined the golf team.

I joined choir and BETA, and volunteered at the animal shelter.

Since my surgery, scoliosis never held me back. But if we hadn’t found it, it could have.

The medical definition of scoliosis is a common sideways curvature of the spine. The funny thing is, I had never heard of it until I went to the doctor for a routine check-up one afternoon. No one noticed until then, not even my mom. No one knew what it was.

It’s common in children going through growth spurts, and although there is no cure, the younger you are, the easier it is to treat.

Scoliosis awareness is so, so important. It caused me no pain, so at first it was virtually undetectable unless we were looking for it. If we had learned about it just a little earlier, I may not have needed surgery. That’s what we had hoped in the beginning. It wasn’t too severe, and my doctor was optimistic. Yet, as I kept growing, so did the curve in my spine, and it became more and more noticeable to my family and to my peers.

I want to spread awareness of scoliosis, especially in children, and most of all, I want people to learn from my mistakes.

To those of you with children 10 and older, I urge you to ask about scoliosis next time your child has a check-up, and if you see someone standing just a little too crooked, speak up. It may seem rude, but you could be helping someone in the long run. Early detection is key.

It’s been two summers since my surgery, and next fall I’ll be returning to high school as a sophomore with nothing in my way. I hope it works out that way for those of you battling scoliosis right now.

Lora Leigh Luquet is a rising sophomore at Destrehan High School. She can be reached at lluquet35@gmail.com.