Ever since she launched her public Instagram account back in March, Princess Eugenie has treated fans with an intimate snapshot into her life as a royal – from childhood throwbacks to cute pics of her pooches and fiancé.
But over the weekend, the 28-year-old penned a very different post, revealing her battle with scoliosis.
“I’m very proud to share my X-rays for the very first time,” she wrote in the caption. “I also want to honour the incredible staff at The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital who work tirelessly to save lives and make people better.”
As part of her role as ambassador for the hospital, she has opened a children’s wing known as ‘Princess Eugenie House.’ Via their website, she shared more about her diagnosis.
“In 2002, when I was 12 years old, I was diagnosed with scoliosis (curvature of the spine), and told that I would need corrective surgery,” she wrote. “This was, of course, a scary prospect for a 12-year-old; I can still vividly remember how nervous I felt in the days and weeks before the operation.”
The operation lasted eight hours and involved surgeons inserting “eight-inch titanium rods into each side of [her] spine and one-and-a-half inch screws at the top of [her] neck.”
“After three days in intensive care, I spent a week on a ward and six days in a wheelchair, but I was walking again after that,” she added.
If it wasn’t for the operation, Eugenie believes the scoliosis would have left her severely “hunched over.”
“Without the care I received at the RNOH I wouldn’t look the way I do now,” she added. “And I wouldn’t be able to talk about scoliosis the way I now do and help other children who come to me with the same problem.”
“My back problems were a huge part of my life, as they would be for any 12-year-old,” she continued. “Children can look at me now and know that the operation works. I’m living proof of the ways in which the hospital can change people’s lives.”
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