“I think I was about 11 or 12 when the back pain really started to bother me,” Kyra says. “The pain was relatively minimal and it wasn’t something I couldn’t push through, but it was just a nagging issue that persisted. I was an active kid and was climbing constantly, so it was the sort of thing you could explain away. But it became impossible to ignore.”

Kyra eventually consulted a physical therapist at her local gym who suggested she speak to her parents about setting up an appointment for a medical consult.

When they did, the news was grim. The consult revealed that Kyra had severe adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) and that her spine was curved into an S-shape at a degree of 52 degrees. Generally, if the curvature of the spine exceeds 50 degrees, it will require spinal fusion surgery.