My wife has severe congenital scoliosis - a case bad enough her x-rays could be found in medical books. At 14, she had her spine fused from C4 to her sacrum with stainless steel rods(basically everything except her neck bones, for those who don't know). Her surgery was the second of its kind, the first being on a much less severe case, and hers was considered a success. Said rods were removed when she was 18 which she was fortunate enough to be able to keep.

The first surgery was brutal, taking 12 hours with her surgeons working in shifts. She said recovery wasn't terrible, the worst part was numbed with morphine. She was back in school in under 2 weeks, and had "grown" 3 inches because her spine was straightend - very Important to an adolescent who was only 4'7" (140cm).

She's in her 40's now. She looks mostly normal (one shoulder is a little hunched and if you hug her she feels like a Resuci-Annie because her spine doesn't flex). Getting clothing that fits is difficult and most nice things like suits and fancy dresses need tailored. She does most of the same things other people do, barring lifting heavy stuff. She works out, practices yoga (probably the best thing she does for her back) swims and reads. She's quite successful in her career, and we've lived all around the world with more places planned ahead. Her back hurts most of the time, but that doesn't stop her from doing almost anything she wants. The only things that she's upset she can't do are go skydiving and have children.

Surgical procedures have vastly improved since her surgery, both in reduced invasiveness and in positive outcomes. As groundbreaking as hers was, it was really rudimentary by today's standards.

I'm sorry you have scoliosis, and may need surgery, but none of that will keep you from going out there, grabbing life by the balls and living it to its fullest, even if it's not the life you imagined it would be.