Beth Hill

RNOH patient Beth Hill completed the Bristol Half Marathon in 2024, raising over £1,000 for RNOH Charity! It was Beth’s way of saying thank you for her life-changing treatment. This is her amazing story.

“25 years ago I was born with scoliosis.
15 years ago I found out I was born with scoliosis.
14 years ago I started wearing a body brace 23 hours a day (you get an hour for minimal exercise and to wash).
11 years ago I was old enough for scoliosis surgery to correct the curvature of my spine.
10 years ago I could finally stop wearing my body brace daily.

Every year since then I have been learning how to navigate life with a fused spine. Last year, I challenged myself to be a bit more active and see what I could push my body to achieve. I put on a pair of skis for the first time since my surgery, I signed up to a 10k run thinking it was going to be easy (spoiler: it wasn’t easy) and ultimately learned to enjoy trying new things with minimal concern that I’d damage my back. I therefore made some amazing memories.

To thank all the RNOH medics for allowing me to now have such an active life (and making me two inches taller) – and to push myself even further – I signed up to this year’s Bristol Half Marathon to raise awareness of the condition that shaped my childhood years and to thank the fantastic people who have developed multiple procedures and treatments since then to allow children now to be less affected by scoliosis in their day to day lives.”