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Vanessa Buckley was diagnosed with scoliosis – the abnormal, sideways curvature of the spine – when she was 12 years old. Her spine was growing faster than the rest of her body, so it ended up curving from the lack of space it had to grow properly.
Over the next four years, Buckley wore a hard, plastic brace in hopes of keeping her curvature in check. She wore the brace for 23 hours a day, struggling to eat or exercise in it because of its rigidity.
Unfortunately, when Buckley went in to see her doctor after she turned 16, her curves had gotten much, much worse.
Doctors told Buckley that she would not only be bound to a wheelchair by the time she was 21, because of how adversely her misshapen spine would inhibit her physical movement, but she would also never be able to have children.
The only treatment option they offered to Buckley was a major, invasive surgery during which metal rods would be installed around her spine, holding it straight.
Though her prognosis seemed bleak, Buckley chose not to undergo surgery. “I didn’t have any pain, I didn’t have any symptoms,” Buckley recalled. “I felt like surgery was a really extreme thing to do for someone not in pain.”
Buckley figured that she would naturally stop growing at 18, that her health and back would stabilize around that time.
At 23, Buckley was still doing fine – but her son, Jett, ended up being born with cerebral palsy because he had been deprived of oxygen at birth. As Buckley threw herself into giving her son the best treatment, she gradually stopped caring for her body because she simply didn’t have the time.
When time came for her to have her next two children – Kalan and Chase – Buckley realized how far she’d let herself go over the past few years and immediately took steps to get her body back in shape. There was little she could do at that point for Jett, aside from providing him with the best treatment possible – but she could improve her own health and wellness for him, and any other future children.
In the following year-and-a-half, Buckley transformed her body and gradually transitioned into becoming a fitness trainer. She now works with over 63 clients each week and is determined to keep her health and strength up for both herself, and her three sons.
Each time Buckley talks to someone living with scoliosis, she tells them to never lose hope. “Today I’m still doing extra exercises to try and build up the weaker side of my back,” she admitted. “You compensate for one side of your body. … Believe in yourself, never give up and trust your own instinct.”
