personal updates Archives - Life with Scoliosis

Machu Picchu trek for scoliosis: £3,667 raised!

Posted on November 29, 2023November 30, 2023 by Louise

Hey everyone! It's been a while but, guess what? I did it! Four days of trekking to the iconic Machu Picchu via the Ancascocha and Inca trails to raise funds for the Scoliosis Association UK. It was incredibly challenging due to the altitude (in fact, THE hardest thing I've ever done!) yet so rewarding. But, I'm so proud that I did it and also raised a whopping £3,667! The altitude was no joke. Every breath was an effort and I...Read More

13 years post scoliosis surgery: scoliosis Q&A

Posted on August 25, 2023August 25, 2023 by Louise

Hello everyone, July marked 13 years since my scoliosis spinal fusion surgery. To celebrate this milestone, I've created a YouTube scoliosis Q&A video, where I answer questions from my followers on Instagram and TikTok, about what my life is like 13 years post-op. Scoliosis can be a daunting and life-altering diagnosis, especially when diagnosed as a teenager like myself. My personal experience of spinal fusion surgery took me on a path of resilience and taught me a great deal about...Read More

My 2023 Goals

Posted on January 1, 2023January 1, 2023 by Louise

Hi everyone and Happy New Year! I hope that you had a fantastic festive period, whatever that looked liked to you. :) As it's the start of another new year, I thought I would do post on my 2023 goals, as I like to use this time of year to reflect on the previous year, and set goals for the year ahead. I set a few goals in 2022, but they were nowhere near as crazy as previous years in...Read More

2021 Wrapped: My Top 10 Blog Posts of 2021

Posted on December 22, 2021December 22, 2021 by Louise

As it's nearly the end of 2021, I thought I'd share the most popular blog posts from this year, in case you missed any of them. Below are the top 10 blog posts from 2021, based on reader views, in reverse order. Enjoy! 10. Should I have Scoliosis Surgery? This is a fairly recent blog post I wrote to try and answer the question I get asked the most. It's a difficult question to answer, but I tried my best...Read More

Hello June: Lockdown Diaries

Posted on June 4, 2020December 29, 2020 by Louise

I can't believe another month has flown by, and that we are still in lockdown after 3 months. May was a funny old month where a lot happened but yet didn't. As it's a strange time, I thought I'd reflect on my current thoughts and feelings, while utilising the June linkup party prompts from A Chronic Voice for some inspiration. HOPING Last month, I completed my twopointsix challenge to help raise awareness and funds for the Scoliosis Campaign Fund. This...Read More

Hello May!

Posted on May 6, 2020December 29, 2020 by Louise

We are now in week 6 of lockdown in the UK and so April was not what you'd call a "normal" month! To start off May right, I thought i'd reflect a bit on April and also what I hope to achieve in May, aswell as how I'm feeling right now in the midst of the pandemic, For this post, I'm joining in with the May Link Party on A Chronic Voice and thought I'd use this months prompts for...Read More

April 2020 Link Up with A Chronic Voice: Lockdown Life!

Posted on April 19, 2020February 20, 2021 by Louise

April 2020 Link Up with A Chronic Voice: Lockdown Life! This month, I thought I'd take part in the April 2020 Linkup Party for people with chronic illnesses, over at A Chronic Voice. The link parties are a monthly get together for anyone with a chronic illness/condition. It's been a funny old month, what with the Coronavirus pandemic forcing the UK into a complete lockdown. So in light of this, I thought I'd use the prompts this month to get...Read More

Lockdown Diaries: Week 3

Posted on April 13, 2020December 29, 2020 by Louise

We have just finished week 3 in lockdown, so I thought I'd document some of the highlights of what I got up to, so I can remember years from now. Plus, writing is therapeutic to me and helps me to cope during a pretty unnerving time. During lockdown, I'm lucky enough to be able to work from, which I do in the daytime Monday - Friday. So most of my activities below I do in the evening after work -...Read More

Lockdown Diaries: Weeks 1-2

Posted on April 8, 2020December 29, 2020 by Louise

As we enter week 3 of "Lockdown" in the UK, I thought I would write down my thoughts as it helps with my anxiety and stress, but also I thought it might be interesting to look back on years from now. So this post may be a bit jumbled and there may not be much point to it, but I just needed to get all my thoughts down somewhere. At the moment we have had two full weeks of lockdown,...Read More

5 ways to look after your mental health during lock-down

Posted on April 3, 2020January 29, 2021 by Louise

We are coming to the end of the first two weeks in lock-down in the UK and honestly, at times it can be hard. I know that other people have it worse than me. I know that key workers are having to go into work whilst I can work safely from home. I know that millions are home schooling their children, whilst attempting to work full time, whilst I don't have kids. I know I'm probably one of the lucky...Read More

Hello April

Posted on April 1, 2020April 13, 2020 by Louise

Well, March, what a strange month you've been!!! At the beginning of the month, I was in the midst (and extreme pain!) of marathon training ready for the Manchester Marathon, which was meant to happen this weekend. On the 7th of March, it was my birthday, and I celebrated with my run club friends with a trip to Zielgelwiese parkrun in Germany to get the Z in our parkrun alphabet challenge. That feels like A LONG time ago now and...Read More

5 positives we can take from lock-down

Posted on March 28, 2020December 1, 2020 by Louise

It's a scary and difficult time for us all at the moment amidst the Coronavirus outbreak. The UK is now in lock-down. As of 23rd March, we can only leave the house for essential supermarket visits or to exercise. If we go outside, we need to stay 2m away from others and we are not allowed to meet friends or family. This is something I don't think any of us ever imagined would happen in our lifetimes and it felt...Read More

Sigh…Corona

Posted on March 21, 2020April 13, 2020 by Louise

There's not really much purpose to this post, other than the fact that I needed to get my thoughts down. It's been a difficult and scary time for everyone amidst the Corona-virus outbreak and at the moment, I feel like I'm in a film that I'm not particularly enjoying. Everything just seems highly surreal. Last week, I was upset that the marathon I had trained for months for, had been postponed. This week, I feel that there are bigger things...Read More

My 2020 Goals

Posted on January 8, 2020April 13, 2020 by Louise

Happy New Year all! I wanted to reflect back on my 2019 goals and share where I'm at for 2020 (wow!) I'm really proud of everything I achieved in 2019, I managed to run four half marathons, including the Great North Run, which was definitely a highlight of the year. In one of those I got a PB of 2.02, so although I didn't achieve my goal of sub 2, I was pretty close and very proud of that. In...Read More

5 Self Care Tips for those with Scoliosis

Posted on November 28, 2019January 29, 2021 by Louise

5 Self Care Tips for Scoliosis Over the past year, I have been living life on full speed, and as a result, have recently made myself pretty ill and run down. This has been very frustrating for me, as I've not been able to run or do the things I enjoy for a while. But this forced rest has made me realise something. That although I have been trying to focus on myself over the last 8 months or so...Read More