I have moderate scoliosis. Ive been suffering from back pain since I was 12.
It was minor at first, a dull ache, but by the time I reached 16 I could barely get out of bed without stiffening pain locking me in place. Due to my scoliosis, I have spinal disc's that have fused together at one side, making my pain even worse. At the end of an 8 hr straight shift, I'm practically crippled. I can't walk on my own, and I limp slowly everywhere because my knees and feet hurt so bad.
You see, your spine holds a lot of your body's weight, keeping you balanced, and keeping your knees and feet from holding so much, but mine doesn't do that. I had to take physical therapy for a little over half a year (that's all the free sessions I could get at the time) and it helped, but after my sessions were up I just got worse.
Every year I can feel my body degrading under its own weight. I'm 20. At the end of a long work day I can't even roll over in my bed due to the pain. And today, I tried to explain to my manager that I couldn't work straight 8 hr shifts without a break anymore. He said “why?” And I explained how I had scoliosis.
The most I got from that point on was a chuckle and a “same” before he just continued his other conversations. I tried to bring it up over and over but he dismissed me.
No one realizes how much it hurts, I'm in so much physical pain, and all they do is complain because I'm sitting down, or complain that I'm too slow. I work at a movie theater as a server, there's a lot of stairs, and I almost sobbed climbing them all. No one wanted to help me, and I guarantee you they all thought I was doing it to get out of work. They always do,, they think I'm over exaggerating basic worker pain, they think “well my back hurts too, but I don't get to sit down” but I'm going to be in a fucking wheel chair when I'm 35. Minor scoliosis is so common, no one has a perfectly straight back, but this isn't minor. This is crippling, and my jobs aren't making it any better. But they never listen, and that's what makes me so utterly upset. I hate crying in front of people, but I sobbed to my fiance over how upsetting it all was, how I try my best at my job every day, and all people see is a slacker because of my agony.
Why is it so hard for people with medical conditions to find jobs that accommodate the most BASIC needs. I asked for 1 break during an 8 hr shift and it was like I was making a funny joke. Just 1 moment to sit down. I'm so frustrated you wouldn't believe.