A Teenager’s Guide to Spinal Fusion
There is plenty of pain, but you are literally titanium
4 min readJan 5, 2019
- You must remind yourself, and remind yourself often, that the universe does not hate you. It does not hate you, and it is certainly not out to get you. If we’re being honest, the universe does not care one lick about you—it is big and has important matters to concern itself with—so it’s pretty self-indulgent to think it would waste precious time seeking your individual destruction. Bad things happen. They just do. But, for whatever reason, we have it in our heads that when a bad thing happens, it’s unnatural. Maybe uncomfortable or unpleasant—because bad things are terribly natural. They happen all the time.
- You can try all you want to undo what’s been done. Physical therapy, back brace, good posture, exercise, prayer, the power of positive thinking. You’re going to do anything and everything you can to regain control over your situation—until you realize your efforts are needless, futile. You’ll have no say in what happens to you. You won’t, your parents won’t, your friends won’t. You can’t will it into submission by hiding or screaming. Go ahead, try. There is nothing you can do. You’ll just have to accept your lot and let the pieces fall where they may.
- When the pieces fall, they will shatter. The doctor will frown while looking at your…
