Falcon Focus: Junior re-adjusts to arts extracurriculars after spinal surgery

March 31, 2022 — by Sanjoli Gupta
Anastasia sings at school during the junior’s homecoming quad day, three months after her surgery.
Anastasia Ramirez combated pain and fatigue while participating in the fall play and San Jose Youth Symphony

From acting (in a production of SchoolHouse Rock) in third grade to playing the clarinet in the San Jose Youth Symphony, junior Anastasia Ramirez has always had a passion for music and theater. However, when she suffered a spinal cord injury caused by scoliosis (a curved spine) the summer before her junior year, she had to undergo surgery.

Ramirez was diagnosed with scoliosis in 7th grade.  Over time, her scoliosis worsened to a sideway curvature of 48 degrees — 38 degrees more than normal; she needed to get a spinal fusion, an operation in which the orthopedic surgeon straightens the spine, holds it in place with rods and screws and joins the vertebrae with bone graft.

“My back was constantly in pain, and whenever I breathed, my back would crack,” Rameriz said. “I wasn’t too stressed about getting the surgery, but the night before I was shaking uncontrollably because I was scared of waking up during the operation if  the anesthesia backfired.”

Fortunately, the surgery went smoothly, and Ramirez returned home three days after the procedure.

After two months of recovery, Ramirez eased back into her extracurricular activities during her first semester of junior year. While acting in the fall play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and performing in the San Jose symphony, Ramirez had to adjust to the long practice times and intense rehearsals.

“For the San Jose Youth Symphony, my back would always hurt when I would play because the clarinet requires a lot of breath support, and by the end of three hour long rehearsals, I would feel completely drained and exhausted,” Ramirez said. “Sometimes, I wouldn’t go to school the next day because my back hurt so much.”

After school, she would take a nap before working on homework because of the lingering fatigue from the surgery. 

Ramirez senses she is gradually gaining her energy back, which is key because she is playing Tzeitel, the eldest daughter in a five person family in the upcoming spring musical, “The Fiddler on the Roof,” and applying her drama skills in English class. In addition to her extracurriculars, she is pursuing a heavy class load this year.. 

Ramirez said that she thoroughly enjoyed an English project centered on “Hamlet,” where she had to make costumes and act, as it connected her passion for music and theater to her English class. 

“Whenever I’m feeling down or sad, music has always helped me,” she said. “I’m feeling so much better — everytime I breathe, my back doesn’t crack. [I’m extremely proud of] being so immersed in the theater program and setting big goals for myself.” 

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