Scoliosis leaving 17-y-o in pain

Seventeen-year-old Ashnique Williams hopes to venture into the field of psychiatry one day, but a severe case of scoliosis has been placing her dream on hold.

Her days are sometimes filled with immense pain, but corrective surgery could end all the discomfort. However the $2.5 million that is required to purchase the screws, rods and pills required are too much for her and her mother StaceyAnn Walker Williams to afford.

"Because of the whole COVID situation, KPH (Kingston Public Hospital's) waiting list is full and it could be done privately, but that could run up to about $5 million. I went around and I tried to get help and I dropped off letters at corporate offices and I didn't get a lot of responses. I went through my health card and it was $2.5 million that I needed to find out of pocket. I tried to raise it but that didn't go anywhere at all so I am humbly reaching out to the public for assistance," Walker Williams said.

Scoliosis is a sideways curvature of the spine that most often is diagnosed in adolescents. Most cases are mild, but some curves worsen as children grow. Severe scoliosis can be disabling. An especially serious spinal curve can reduce the amount of space within the chest, making it difficult for the lungs to function properly. Ashnique said she was in second form at the Wolmer's High School for Girls when one of her friends enquired about her posture after a swimming class.

"They said I didn't stand right and later that year my swimming teacher said my spine had a curve in it. At the time I didn't think much of it until third year when I started having pain and that's when I told my mom," she said. Walker Williams said a stranger also recommended that she take Ashnique for a medical check-up. But in August 2020, she noticed Ashnique's posture for herself.

"She was laying flat but one of her shoulder blades was higher than the other, so I took her to get a check-up and the tests came back that she had severe scoliosis. I was hoping that it was something that could be corrected by a brace but after consultations, surgery was recommended," she said. Ashnique said walking and climbing the staircase to her classes became challenging.

"Most of my classes were upstairs and because of the pain, I would usually stay downstairs at the gazebo and my friends would join me down there because they were just great. I didn't pass a lot of my subjects, I only got two out of the nine that I sat," she said. After leaving Wolmer's, Ashnique enrolled at Excelsior Community College but the pain remained.

"She was attending college until March of this year, from last October, but because of the intense pain, she had to stop. She would sit at her desk at college and when she wakes up she couldn't move at all. One morning she woke up and she didn't have any sensation in her feet. She was crying and frightened," she said.

"I would be in so much pain when I got home. My lower back to the sole of my feet would hurt so much to the point where I had to ask mommy to rub them for me. When I wake in the morning, my feet feel like pins and needles,"Ashnique added.

Ashnique is expected to do the corrective surgery at KPH free of cost, but the prescription to buy the pins and other parts are about $1.8 million. The physiotherapy and other treatments are not included in that cost.

Persons wishing to assist Ashnique Williams may contribute to her VMBS account #448178572, Duke Street branch or call 876 426 8634.