A Leeds school girl thought her side effects of puberty were causing her back pain before she was diagnosed with scoliosis.
Lola Hill, 14, had been complaining that she had neck pain for about six months. She came home from school and said her neck "froze" to the point of making her cry.
Lola put it down to "something girls go through" and her mum suspected it to be bad growing pains. But, as the sharp pains grew worse, her mum Leanne decided to get her checked out before discovering her daughter needed surgery.
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Leanne told Nuffield Health: "Every time it happened, Lola couldn't move for a few seconds. It seemed to be a very painful spasm or a trapped nerve. I just kept saying that it was due to growing pains.
"One day she came home from school and told me her neck had frozen again and the pain had made her cry. As we hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary, I thought it was time to visit a specialist."
The Hill family made an appointment with Consultant Orthopaedic Spinal Surgeon, Mr Almas Khan, at Nuffield Health Leeds Hospital. During the consultation, he noticed that one of Lola’s hips was sticking out more than the other.
After an X-Ray the surgeon diagnosed Lola with scoliosis due to the curvature of the spine. Mr Khan said parents who have adolescent children should be looking out for changes in the shape of their child's waist, differences in shoulder symmetry and looking to see if their ribs are more prominent on one side more than the other.
Sometimes this can be more noticeable when leaning forward. The earlier a curve is picked up the more options there are to treat it without an operation or preventing it from getting worse.
Leanne added: "The news was a bombshell. I went home and cried for not knowing my daughter had scoliosis and not noticing it.
"We hadn’t noticed anything curved on her spine because she's at that age where you don’t often see her body and due to the winter weather Lola was always wrapped up well."
Mr Khan said: “The earlier that someone presents it might actually prevent needing an operation. It’s important to notice any body changes when adolescents are having growth spurts as they can cause quite a visible deformity as they worsen and may lead to psychological effects on patients, often causing them to become withdrawn.
"It affects their interaction with society and impacts their self-confidence."
The Hill family, fortunately, had private health insurance and so the operation was able to take place at Nuffield Health Leeds Hospital, one of a few places where this surgery is carried out. There was a slot available, and Lola successfully had her operation within a brief period after visiting Mr Khan.
Lola is looking forward to playing golf again and the first time she can pick up her clubs. She already anticipates regularly beating her dad and taking part in competitions.
Leanne added: "It was just unbelievably so fast and the care we received right across the board from housekeepers to nurses - everybody was second to none. I would advise anybody to go to Nuffield Health Leeds Hospital, the care we received was outstanding, I couldn’t thank everyone enough.
"For all mums like me, do reach out to other parents so you can get the personal perspective. I would be willing to talk to other mums."
Lola has a scar on her back after the operation but is now confident and proud of it. Because of her confidence, Lola has been reaching out to young people through social media helping those who are also about to undergo their spinal operation at Nuffield Health Leeds Hospital.
