A Letter to those I left behind

A introductary letter I emailed to my English teacher.

Hey Mrs. Aquilina, 

Here's my intro letter for class. Hope you enjoy. aha!

Wednesday, February,6,2012

Dear Mrs. Aqulina,

Hi it’s me! Well Sharaya and I’m more than an empty desk and a name with a bunch of A’s along side it on your attendance.  Where am I you may ask. It must be bothering you, where could Sharaya possibly be! I know you like to think and ponder, what a conundrum this must be! This is probably bothering you not knowing. Well would you like to know? Of course you must want to do know!  It must cross your mind a lot, especially in class. Hmmm where could Sharaya be? It’s like where’s Waldo all over again - Did we ever find him in the first place? Questions, questions, questions and thoughts floating around in your brain until your mind explodes or you start over thinking. Over thinking is the worst! But your mind must be filling up with even more questions… Well let me answer a few! 

Let’s Rewind!

On Friday December 14,2012 was my last day at RCBHS.  It was a bittersweet day full of smiles, giggles, laughs , nerves and tears. I hopped on my bus for the last time for who knows how long. When I realized it was my last bus ride, I was saddened and even more nervous but quite excited. I got off the bus and began my weekend. My weekend went by fast yet kind of slow. It was kind of as if time was suspended yet at the same time it went by quite quickly. It was a weird feeling don’t know if you’ve ever experienced it. Sort of a sci fi movie/book type of time. On Sunday, I drove up to Hamilton and stayed in a hotel. Why you must be thinking and where is she going? What is she doing? Why is she leaving? Why was it a bittersweet day? Why was she in Hamilton? These are some of the questions that you must be asking.

Well I’ll tell you and ease the discomfort of these questions boggling in your head. I had surgery, major surgery for my spine. Now before you panic let me explain. I have scoliosis. Scoliosis is abnormal curvature of the spine. I was diagnosed with scoliosis in 2009. I have worn two back braces and tried many different types of treatment for back pain as well as for scoliosis. In October 2011 my curve  was 46.6 degrees and very progressive In February of last year I had a x-ray done. My largest curve in my spine was 57.7 degrees. It had increased approximately 10 degrees in a four month period. I am more than positive that my curve had increased prior to my surgery because the pain and discomfort I was in increased and I felt my curve increase ( When your curvature of your spine increases you feel it move.)  On Monday, December,18,2012 I had major surgery to correct my  severe scoliosis. The surgery included introducing two metal rods to my spine and fusing them together as well as screwing the metal bars into my spine.  My surgery was a success with 70 % correction and ZERO blood loss which is a miracle! I spent 6 days at McMaster Hospital in Hamilton and drove home on Christmas Eve Day! I was so happy to be able to be home for Christmas! I am now 7 weeks post op and I’m doing well. I’ve relearned to walk and I’m relearning other things as well. There are some things I cannot do or am not allowed to do.  I spent my time sleeping and taking it easy.  I spend a lot of my time working on my Scoliosis Awareness Facebook Page. Before my surgery I created a Scoliosis Facebook Page to spread scoliosis awareness, share my story and help others with scoliosis.  It’s been very successful and I have reached a large audience of people worldwide. I have been able to share my story and use my experiences to help others. J I’m so happy I had this experience,  even though it was very difficult to go through ,but I wouldn’t change a thing! It’s made a stronger and better person and I have grown literally as well as a person. I am really happy with my decision to have surgery.

Sincerely,

Not just an empty desk..

Sharaya

Here's a link to my Scoliosis Facebook Page!

https://www.facebook.com/ScoliosisAwarenessTeamsSpine?fref=ts