Bouncing Back: Help Yourself, Then Help Others
This resources article was written by Wendi Wu, a sophomore from Shanghai American School of Pudong.
It was a typical Wednesday in late November a few years back. Ma picked me up early from school and drove me to the hospital. I figured it was from that comment my swim coach made a few days ago, something about my unparallel shoulders. After we arrived, Ma took me upstairs to the X-ray. When the doctor showed us a picture of my spine, she told me I had contracted serious scoliosis and required immediately treatment. If it didn’t work, I might need a surgery.
For a second, it was as if my heart had stopped beating. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the radiography of my own body, which looked so peculiar I became skeptical. Why does my spine look like that? Why am I different from everyone else? Questions started floating around my head like ants crowding for a single crumb of bread. I didn’t know what to think. Seeing my panic, the doctor patiently explained my condition and demonstrated what was needed for treatment. Treatment, I thought. Treatment shouldn’t be too bad. However, after the doctor’s clarification, I learned that treatment meant wearing a lumbering plastic brace under the layers of my school uniform during school hours; it also meant sacrificing two hours of homework time every day to complete rehabilitation training on a yoga mat. Even worse, the doctor warned me to cease practicing ballet as it deteriorates my back muscles, rendering them unable to support my spine.
Overtime, the process of curing scoliosis grew to be much more painful than I had ever imagined, and more of a burden than my body ever was. I was no longer the perfect girl in my expectations. I was an ugly girl with an oddly shaped body. Through the process of healing, I’ve experienced vicious ridicule from peers without striking back, prickling torture from treatment without giving up.
Three years later, I’m still recovering from the same disease. Except, I’m no longer ashamed of my body, received positive signs of recovery, and am able to do ballet again. When I dance to the allegro music playing on the piano, words cannot express how grateful I am for my persistence. In that moment, I felt anyone should have the right to do sports, love sports, and maintain a healthy body.
With these words in my head, I applied to be the executive member of WILL Club, a club at my school established to support physically disabled children by teaching them sports. In my application, I wrote about my experience as a patient who suffered from scoliosis. Fortunately, out of all applicants, I got accepted.
Today, I work with children who are less fortunate, and my goal is to let them feel the power of sports. Last year, WILL invited the kids to our school and taught them soccer and swimming. In the warm sun, students from our school carefully taught the kids how to kick, pass, or play tricks with a ball. This year, my vision is to invest in more activities involving teaching and fundraising. Empowered by my past experiences of being one of them, I’m passionate about supporting this club in all the ways I can.
