Princess Eugenie stands tall at 5 feet, 5 inches, thanks to the life-changing efforts of doctors and nurses at Royal National Orthopedic Hospital.
In her latest Instagram post, Eugenie, 28, opened up about her scoliosis diagnosis as a child. She posted a photo of her X-rays, which show the eight-inch rods doctors inserted into her spine and the 1.5-inch screws at the top of her neck after an eight-hour operation she endured at just 12 years old.
“Today (Monday, July 2) is International Scoliosis Awareness Day and I’m very proud to share my X Rays for the very first time,” she wrote in the caption.
“I also want to honour the incredible staff at The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital who work tirelessly to save lives and make people better. They made me better and I am delighted to be their patron of the Redevelopment Appeal.”
Eugenie has been a patron of the Redevelopment Appeal, a fundraising campaign for newer facilities and equipment for Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, since 2012. As part of her involvement, she revealed more details of the lead-up to her surgery and her recovery.
“I can still vividly remember how nervous I felt in the days and weeks before the operation … After three days in intensive care, I spent a week on a ward and six days in a wheelchair, but I was walking again after that.”
She also added that she was most inspired to get involved by the next generation of children suffering from scoliosis.
“Without the care I received at the RNOH, I wouldn’t look the way I do now; my back would be hunched over, ” she said. “And I wouldn’t be able to talk about scoliosis the way I now do, and help other children who come to me with the same problem.
“My back problems were a huge part of my life, as they would be for any 12-year-old. Children can look at me now and know that the operation works.”
Perhaps her biggest contribution will be the Princess Eugenie House, a new residential space for parents and other relatives of children being treated in the hospital.
Eugenie is known for her humanitarian efforts. She recently visited a house for survivors of human trafficking and is a patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust, along with her sister, Princess Beatrice.
Eugenie, daughter of Prince Andrew and granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth, became engaged to her longtime boyfriend, Jack Brooksbank, in January.
Their wedding is scheduled for October 2018 in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, where her cousin Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were married in May.
According to Mayo Clinic, signs and symptoms of scoliosis may include:
• Uneven shoulders
• One shoulder blade that appears more prominent than the other
• Uneven waist
• One hip higher than the other
If a scoliosis curve gets worse, the spine will also rotate or twist, in addition to curving side to side. This causes the ribs on one side of the body to stick out farther than on the other side.
Go to your doctor if you notice signs or symptoms of scoliosis in your child.
Source: Punch
