I found out I had spinal cancer because of an accident
Whilst out with my friends, I hit the bottom of my back coming down a wet slide too fast. I had extreme pain in my coccyx to the point I had to be carried off the slide. I just expected the pain to disappear after a few days but the opposite happened, the pain didn’t just increase, it spread. The pain started shooting all the way down my left leg as well as shooting into my back, and down into my coccyx until eventually I wasn’t using my left leg properly anymore. Instead of putting all my weight down onto my foot, I began dragging my foot so it wasn’t just pain, it was limiting my mobility which began affecting everything.
I loved sports and suddenly couldn’t walk properly, never mind continuing to do sports. It was keeping me up at night, I was crying all the time and I started getting in trouble at school because I couldn’t physically get to my lessons on time. A five-minute walk now took me 25 minutes so I started missing school. This was when we knew something more serious was going on but we never could have expected or prepared find out I had spinal cancer.
I went back and forth with my GP for a few weeks while my symptoms were worsening and they couldn’t find a single thing wrong, even my blood tests and X-rays came back normal. Then finally I was sent for an M.R.I for suspected juvenile arthritis as the condition is quite prevalent in my family. Even an arthritis diagnosis as an active, energetic and sporty 13-year-old was a lot to try and wrap my head around.
