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MODELLING WAS JOSIE CHAPMAN’S DREAM, BUT ONE MAJOR OBSTACLE STOOD IN HER WAY – HER CROOKED SPINE MEANT SHE COULDN’T EVEN STAND UP STRAIGHT

By Danielle Gusmaroli

Teenager Josie Chapman always dreamed of being a model, but a sporting accident meant that her life-long ambition was in tatters.

The 14-year-old broke her leg in a horrific trampolining accident and had to have titanium plates fitted.

But the plates caused an uneven growth in her legs which in turn put a strain on the muscles in her back.

And after six months of deterioration Josie was diagnosed with scoliosis, a condition where the spine curves into an S-shape.

“I sat in shock as the doctor explained it,” recalls Josie. “All I’d ever wanted to do was model, and I was being told I had a condition which seemed to make that impossible.”

But if this wasn’t distressing enough, Josie was nicknamed by classmates at school the ‘hunchback’ and even stared at by grown adults as she walked down the street.

A 10-hour operation was offered to Josie to straighten out her spine, but this meant that she would never be able to bend her back.

“I had the choice of leaving my ribcage pressing on my lung, leading to its possible collapse, or a 10-hour operation to straighten my spine. Of course, I opted for the surgery.”

In March last year, Josie finally had the operation.

Two titanium rods were inserted either side of her spine, four ribs were broken permanently to help flatten her back, and springs were inserted between the bones.

Josie was in intensive care for 24 hours, and her painstaking recovery took three months.

“If I touched her, she’d scream in pain,” says Josie’s mum Diane, 42.

“I just wanted her to be able to stand up straight, but Josie was thinking about her modelling dreams too.”

Josie, now 16 looks on the positive side of her experience saying, “The surgery left me unable to bend my back, which I know might affect my career.

"But it also means I can now walk with perfect posture, which most models spend years trying to achieve.”

It also brought an end to the bullying which made Josie’s life a misery. “Who wants to be called hunchback?” she asks.

Six months after her operation, Josie entered the Teen Queen modelling contest and has beaten 5,000 girls to get to the final 50.

She believes that what she’s been through has given her the determination to win.

“I am proud I went through this trauma – it will make me more able to cope with the tough sides of modelling,” she says.

“After everything I’ve been through, I reckon I can take on the challenge and make it to the top.”

 

Do you think she was right with her decision? Would you risk not being able to do everyday tasks to follow a dream? Is vanity overtaking practicality in today’s society?

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Credits

Photography: Lancton. Hair and Make-Up: Oonagh Connor at Minx Agency