Spine surgery girl wins 800m race

By David Fenton
BBC South health correspondent

Abi Sowton has scoliosis - which bends and twists her spine

A Hampshire schoolgirl has made a remarkable recovery from major spinal surgery - going on to win the 800m race at her school sports day just four months later.

Abi Sowton, 15, of Alresford, has scoliosis - a condition that bends and twists the spine.

During a four-hour operation she had two 18in (46cm) titanium rods inserted into her back to help straighten it.

Abi first noticed something was wrong last year when one of her ribs was protruding. Her mother, Deborah, put it down to poor teenage posture.

In fact, it was scoliosis, which affects one in every 2,000 children. About 80% of those children are teenage girls.

It was a really happy moment because I'd been working for this all the time through hospital Abi Sowton

Most will not require surgery but for those that do, the operation can be fairly significant.

For Abi, it meant literally twisting her spine back into shape and fixing it with rods.

Her mother said: "Once they'd opened her up, with careful monitoring, they drilled holes in each vertebrae and inserted two titanium rods and screwed them back into place and then put her back together again."

During her recovery it was the thought of running that kept Abi going.

"When I was in hospital, I was determined to run in a race and get through it and so was looking forward to sports day at school," she said.

Abi says winning the race just four months after surgery was emotional

"Before I was quite a good runner - it was one of the only sports I was really good at so I was determined to keep that level up and get through it."

Four months later and Abi entered the 800m race at a sports day at Perins Community Sports College.

Her ambition, she said, was to just complete the race.

Despite the metal rods in her back, she ran strongly from the start and ended up winning the race - a moment captured by her mother on her mobile phone.

"It was quite emotional," said Abi. "It was a really happy moment because I'd been working for this all the time through hospital, so it was really nice."

Her mother agreed: "It was the one goal that we had when she was recovering that we wanted to aim for, even if she ran and came last.

"It was very emotional watching my daughter win clearly. Fabulous, absolutely wonderful. It made it all worth while."

Abi had a four-hour operation to insert two 18in (46cm) rods into her back

Years ago, patients could take up to a year to recover from a serious back operation like Abi's.

Now the expected recovery time is seven days in hospital and up to six weeks of rehabilitation at home.

Evan Davies, Abi's spinal surgeon from The Spire hospital in Southampton, explained why.

"This is a big change from how it was 20 years ago where patients could very often be in hospital for six months, nine months and even up to a year. Our new techniques mean that patients get through the surgery very quickly."

"I think Abi's fantastic. To win the 800m so quickly after she's had the operation just shows how motivated she is and like all surgery, the more motivated the patient is, the better they do."

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A schoolgirl has made a remarkable recovery from major spinal surgery