Scoliosis Surgery Set for February 12 at Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia

Story, photos by Cassie Hepler

You have probably been wondering where have my personal blog posts have gone? Well, it’s been one busy year with passion projects! We launched Explore-Philly.com and Explore-NJ.com in January of 2015 and have been making waves since then. From what I’ve been told, even people who don’t read anything follow our online magazines. Thank you for your continued support! Including working weekday mornings as assistant editor at the Philadelphia Public Record and going to casting calls with my agency, modeling and acting when I can squeeze it in, I’ve been one busy bee.

The bad news? My once manageable lower lumbar scoliosis (read the blog post below almost a year to date) has gotten out of hand. It is uncomfortable to the point of not being able to sit down and/or stand for over an hour without a break from either. The only relief I can get is laying down with my Mac Powerbook and taking daily naps, like someone twice my age. Parts of my back now go numb and limbs are getting in on the action too. The once persistent sciatica down my right leg has been replaced with pinched nerves. My doctor at Jefferson, Dr. Joshua Heller, has been with me the whole way and this past year, I could feel it getting worse. Could it have been from waterfall cliff jumping and bruising my tailbone in the Dominican Republic this summer? There’s a slight possibility (and apparently all his patients have been doing that this past year, which must be driving him nuts) however my gut tells me this was a long time coming.

I progressed from 38 degrees in 2008 to 42 degrees in 2014 and now have curved even more to almost 48 degrees in fall of 2015. Anything above 50 degrees is considered a severe curve and I’m sure by the time surgery gets here, I will be there. A blur of X-rays, CAT scans, doctor appointments and MRIs have been happening since the fall and we have finally made the decision to do the surgery. I also discovered an amazing and helpful Scoliosis Inspire and Inform Facebook group who have been my lifeline through all of this, giving me support, help, documents, questionnaires and more. Now is the time because my housemate is here until she goes off to grad school in September, my mother is willing and able to come stay for 2 months (healing time is 6 weeks to 2 months with getting back to feeling normal around 6 months, full healing and bone grafting takes a year) and my work is allegedly going to support me during that time too. It’s a trifecta that most likely will not happen again. So it’s time. And as you can see… things are even looking uncomfortable.

I lean to the left. As my dad likes to joke, he always knew I did. The plan is to add screws and rods to straighten the spine, much like they do with children. They have made strides in plastic rods for children that slowly disintegrate over time, but are still in testing phases.

This is close to what I will likely look like after the surgery however my fusion will probably be just in the lower half, from the rib cage down. I will not be fused to my pelvis to allow for flexibility and ability to exercise and remain active. — This is close to what I will likely look like after the surgery however my fusion will probably be just in the lower half, from the rib cage down. According to my doctor, I will not be fused to my pelvis to allow for flexibility and ability to exercise and remain active. I am told I will become flexible in other ways and I will adapt and change my exercise regime as I learn how my new spine moves. As long as I stay healthy, I will remain active and happy!

This is an MRI of my spine, above, as if I was sliced in half and the image below is from the side. You can see my liver and kidneys are compromised and scoliosis if left untreated can crush organs to death. Thank goodness for modern medicine. — This is an MRI of my spine, above, as if I was sliced in half and the image below is from the side. You can see my liver and kidneys are compromised and scoliosis if left untreated can crush organs to death. My spine is starting to stack on top of itself and nerves are pinched and painful. Thank goodness for modern medicine.

In the end, it will be worth it and I am blessed to have loving and caring friends and family who will help me, my online magazines and my sanity stay strong during the process. If you want to learn more about scoliosis or see an animated video (or Part 1 of a real surgery, which is pretty gory) to understand more, feel free.

The good news? I will gain my original height back and then some – 2 to 2 1/2 inches! I’ll be back to 5 foot 8 or taller which will be nice. And perhaps feel more like myself in general once again.

I am not starting a GoFundMe account but am accepting donations to the surgery costs and insurance prices (had to go Platinum on the insurance this year for obvious reasons) to my PayPal account which accepts credit, debit and bank cards. Please send as a friend to cassiehepler@hotmail.com if you like, it will be nice to know who it is coming from as well so I know who to thank. I will try to post along the way of this journey when I can to keep everyone updated at once. Thank you all for your support, understanding and continued care for this challenging year ahead!

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