Sixth Post: Sorry!

Hi there,

I am so, so sorry about the lack of comments. I've been back at school, and it has been absolutely hectic. I'm doing 3 advanced highers, I'm head girl and

I just always, always have something to do!

But I'm hoping to dedicate more time to the blog now the link has been included with my article I wrote for "Backbone" magazine.

Here is a link to the Scoliosis Association UK website:

http://www.sauk.org.uk/

Here is an extract from the website:

"The Scoliosis Association (UK) was founded in 1981. It is the

only independent support group for scoliosis in the UK. There is no cure for scoliosis, only corrective treatment for the twisting and curving spine. SAUK aims to provide information about scoliosis, eliminate fear and stigma, and offer contacts for shared experiences, because:

• adolescents need support and reassurance
• parents need information and contact with others who have been through the same situation
• older people need help with pain
• the public need to be aware of the importance of early detection of scoliosis in children"

If you live in the UK, it's a really good idea to get involved with the association. They have a magazine that goes out called Backbone, which is filled with interesting articles and stories, and helps bring together people who have scoliosis.

You can also raise money for them, as I did last year:

Sophie’s ice cream sale scoops some scoliosis cash

Oct 24 2008 by Caroline Boxer, Strathearn Herald

WHEN Morrison’s Academy fifth former Sophie Equi, of Perth, sets her mind to a task, she succeeds.

At 14, Sophie was diagnosed with scoliosis. Determined to battle it out, she underwent bout after bout of surgery followed by long and painful recovery periods over two long years. Now back in school, Sophie has set to work with the charities committee to deliver on a promise she gave to raise money for the cause.

Earlier this summer, when Sophie told her story to the Herald, she said she planned to do her bit to give something back to the doctors and nurses who looked after her and to the Scoliosis Association, which supported her throughout her ordeal. So, her campaign got underway last week, with a first event - an ice cream sale during school break.

If the surname didn’t give it away, then the choice of inaugural event surely did, for Sophie’s dad, David, is the man behind Equi’s Ice Cream and the Hamilton ice cream parlour voted Britain’s no. 1 in a survey in The Independent. So, Sophie told us: “I asked Dad if he could donate some ice creams, and he obliged, with 150 tubs.”

Before the sale, the diminutive 16-year-old confessed: “I’m a wee bit nervous; I just don’t want anything to go wrong.” She needn’t have worried: Sophie and her helpers, Katie Souter, Seona Christie, and Rebecca Dickie, coped admirably with the crowds as the tubs flew out the doors. Strawberry just about pipped double vanilla in the popularity stakes, and exclamations of “Awesome!” were frequently heard above the melee. Aficionados keen to demonstrate their sweet savvy, smugly informed the others: “Wait ‘til you try Sophie's Crunch” – in fact, a scrumptious concoction named after the woman of the hour.

Sophie still goes for checkups every three months but for now is happy “just to feel like a normal teenager.” That ‘normal teenager’ is happy to report that the sale should bag £200 for the association, boosted by another £50, the proceeds garnered from the personal account of her struggle that the enterprising Sophie earlier syndicated to the press."

I was thinking of having some sort of checklist for people to take to hospital if they're going to go under surgery.

Any other ideas?

Let me know at sofz_equi@hotmail.co.uk

Take care!

Sophie

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