"There has been less than 10 of these specific surgeries performed over the past 15 years, to this extent, especially in a case like this. YOU are one of my youngest patients ever to have this surgery and I'm not a 100% it will work, but I'm going to do my best to be able to make you walk again." - Doctor Roh; Rockford Spine Clinic.

Disease. Imagine you are a teenager, being told you have this disease where you could be paralyzed at any given moment, where all you have to do is bend down and the world, as you know it, could change for ever.

Ok. Rewind. My family has a terrible history of back problems. My grandfather, rest his soul, had many surgeries and an extensive list of problems due to his back. Well, down the road, along came my mother and two uncles, all with back problems. All together, my immediate family has had a combined total of about 15 plus back surgeries. Further down the road, here comes little Mandie.

Growing up, I rarely had back problems. Granted, it would have little aches and pains every now and then, but I was only to assume that it was because of everyday back pain that millions of people had. As I moved along to high school, the pain gradually increased here and there, but I never had anything major until one day, I was bedridden. This day turned into two, which then turned into three and four. My mother had exhausted herself trying to help me, but nothing was working. We went through countless ER visits, doctors, x-rays, etc. and the doctors still neglected to find anything, and we continued to leave with dissatisfaction. Until one day when we received the call; they found the problem that was causing me so much pain-- Degenerative Disc Disease.

Let me give you a little background on this unfortunate "disease." According to Spine-Health.com, Degenerative Disc Disease is the pain and numbness radiating from a degenerative disc, or a disc that ages at a faster rate and causes them to become brittle and weak at a younger age. This usually occurs sometime during the 30s, and it can lead to spinal stenosis, osteoarthritis in the spine, spondylolisthesis, and a few other diseases.

Ok, fast forward a few years. I've graduated high school and am working two jobs and going to college. The pain was scattered, but nothing as dramatic or severe as my experience a few years earlier. Being a manager at my primary job at the time, I was always doing extensive floor sets, lifting, running around etc. I had managed the work for nearly three years and was doing fine.

And then I wasn't.

January 1, I was schedule to open the store. I was to be up at 6 a.m. leaving for my 45-minute drive to work. But, I woke up PARALYZED. I couldn't feel or move my legs, and I had no explanation as to why this had happened to me. I begged for any explanation, but no one, including myself, could understand; my employers certainly weren't on the list of those who were understanding, either.

So, along came more doctor visits, physical therapy, scans, tests, etc. They ended up finding a herniated a disc and a pinched sciatic nerve going into my left leg. The fix? Surgery. I went in early in the morning, had my surgery and was able to leave later that day. Weeks went by, and I was optimistic going into physical therapy, until out of the blue the pain and numbness come back. I went back to the doctor for a pinched left sciatic nerve, another, different herniated disc, and another surgery.

Sciatica pain, which is caused when the sciatic nerve running down your spine into your leg is damaged or inched, is something that I wouldn't even wish for my worst enemy. It causes a horrible pins and needle feeling in your legs and feet, numbness and loss of feeling in legs and feet, majorly impaired reflexes, the inability to stand or get up and a few other symptoms.

Mine was so extreme, I was left in a state of near paralysis, unable to walk, feel, or move my legs. Every day for over an year-and-a-half, my boyfriend would help me get dressed, shower and even put shoes on. Do you know how horrible it feels to know that yesterday you were able to get up and walk and run and laugh and love life, then when you wake up the next day, your whole life has changed?

After months of physical therapy, multiple shots into my spine, and two surgeries, things went back down hill. I had herniated yet another disc and this time ended up pinching the base of the nerve root. My doctor told me a spinal fusion was the only way I could fix my spine. So, as my only other option as to not sit and suffer, I had the surgery. I was left with some neat metal in my back, about a 6 inch scar, and my life back again. I was given back the gift of being able to walk on my own, to be able to shower by myself, and being able to put on my own clothes.

I used to allow this horrible disease to control my emotions about life. I used to let it control how I acted towards others and how I acted towards myself. I used to let it define who I was, but I've come to realize that I will have this with me for the rest of my life--my back is like 'a ticking time bomb that can go off at any moment' according to my award-winning doctors. At any moment it could happen again and it would be the end of my hopes for a future of long, romantic walks. But who am I to let this effect my mindset on life? Life is beautiful and everything happens for a reason.

I won't let this define me.