HELLO!

[fiftycents.thoughts]

hello people. i am in need of some advices.

i went for the SIA walk in interview on 1st dec and miraculously, i passed all 4 rounds. however, when i went for the medical check up, i was found to have scoliosis and the cobb angle is at 25 degree. i think it's over the SIA standard and soon after, i received a letter from SIA. yea.. i got rejected.

i really wanted to join SIA so now i am thinking of going for an operation for my scoliosis. my doctor told me that no surgeon will want to operate on me because mine was a minor case, but i wanted to try anyway. i had done research on scoliosis operations, and to be frank, it kinda freak me out. it was mentioned that they will insert screw and metal rods to help correct the curves and after the surgery, there will be a long scar down the back which will fade a bit only after a few years.

i wanted to go for the surgery and go for the interview again. but i was thinking IF i managed to get through the rounds again, then i will have to do medical check up again. which means they will see the 2 metal rods through the x-ray. i was wondering if that will affect my chance to get into SIA because i had done an operation before? and the scar? i was thinking since i can hide it when i wear the uniform, so it is not very much of an issue. correct me if i am wrong.

PLEASE ADVICE! i am so desperate.

[VeniE]

hello people. i am in need of some advices.

i went for the SIA walk in interview on 1st dec and miraculously, i passed all 4 rounds. however, when i went for the medical check up, i was found to have scoliosis and the cobb angle is at 25 degree. i think it's over the SIA standard and soon after, i received a letter from SIA. yea.. i got rejected.

i really wanted to join SIA so now i am thinking of going for an operation for my scoliosis. my doctor told me that no surgeon will want to operate on me because mine was a minor case, but i wanted to try anyway. i had done research on scoliosis operations, and to be frank, it kinda freak me out. it was mentioned that they will insert screw and metal rods to help correct the curves and after the surgery, there will be a long scar down the back which will fade a bit only after a few years.

i wanted to go for the surgery and go for the interview again. but i was thinking IF i managed to get through the rounds again, then i will have to do medical check up again. which means they will see the 2 metal rods through the x-ray. i was wondering if that will affect my chance to get into SIA because i had done an operation before? and the scar? i was thinking since i can hide it when i wear the uniform, so it is not very much of an issue. correct me if i am wrong.

PLEASE ADVICE! i am so desperate.

i think it's best that you send in your enquiry to SIA abt this.
coz doesn't mean that with a surgery correction, they will bound to accept you.

[fiftycents.thoughts]

really? but how am i going to go about asking?

all cabin crews cant have scoliosis with angle more than 25 degree is it? or is it only for sia?

[starrynitezz]

hmm..i feel u may want to seriously reconsider.. any form of surgery carries a certain degree of risk.

i got a colleague who went for op to correct her scoliosis when she was 14, n was warded for close to a month cos she was really very weak after op..lost 8kg.
n recuperate for 3-6 months.. she also said she cant carry heavy weights for a long time..

now that shes 25, she will still occasionally suffer from backache dunno duo to her op or her bad posture..

[Plavt]

was mentioned that they will insert screw and metal rods to help correct the curves and after the surgery, there will be a long scar down the back which will fade a bit only after a few years.

I am not going to make any bones about this; the best thing you can do is simply forget about applying to SIA at least as a flight attendant. Part of the medical examination consists of an x-ray as mentioned so often so SIA will doubtless be made aware of the corrective surgery.

However, ask yourself; is it worth it for a job? Such surgery like many other things comes at a price and you might find you will not be able to function properly for a long time and may have problems in later life (my mother has plastic disks in her back and has done for years but now that causes aches and pains).

Don't be to downbeat, if you really want to work for an airline there are many other jobs which have advantages over being an flight attendant. Granted they are may or may not be more difficult to acquire and take longer to provide any rewards but it is worth thinking about (the fact you got as far as you did with your flight attendant application may or may not help).

[VeniE]

really? but how am i going to go about asking?

all cabin crews cant have scoliosis with angle more than 25 degree is it? or is it only for sia?

i not sure about that. but mostly who cleared the med were having scoliosis less than 20 degrees. including me.

or you may also check with doc whether there's any other way to improve the scoliosis to less than 20 ma. den get a the doc to certify that, den at least you have a supported document lo.

i think surgery is only for those serious case lo.

maybe email SIA to enquire lo.. chec thru their website see if there's any email you can send. but dun put too much hope coz sometimes they dun seems to reply to enquiries lo.

[starrynitezz]

agree with plavt ...

i forgot to add.. my fren's surgery was estimated 14k .. n thats after govt subsidy.. she was refered by the polyclinic to the hospital n thats y she can get subsidy.

if u cant get subsidy for this, ur cost is twice this amount..

im working in a hospital, so i know e costs is about there

[singaporegrrl]

I agree with Plavt. You should forget about being a flight attendant with any airline. Even crew who started out fit are bound to have back injuries caused by carrying heavy weights or accidents on board. You are putting yourself at high risk especially after surgery. And I doubt you will ever be selected with a scoliosis history. I'm sorry but don't waste thousands on something that won't guarantee you a place as a flight attendant.

[spydergurlzz]

hello people. i am in need of some advices.

i went for the SIA walk in interview on 1st dec and miraculously, i passed all 4 rounds. however, when i went for the medical check up, i was found to have scoliosis and the cobb angle is at 25 degree. i think it's over the SIA standard and soon after, i received a letter from SIA. yea.. i got rejected.

i really wanted to join SIA so now i am thinking of going for an operation for my scoliosis. my doctor told me that no surgeon will want to operate on me because mine was a minor case, but i wanted to try anyway. i had done research on scoliosis operations, and to be frank, it kinda freak me out. it was mentioned that they will insert screw and metal rods to help correct the curves and after the surgery, there will be a long scar down the back which will fade a bit only after a few years.

i wanted to go for the surgery and go for the interview again. but i was thinking IF i managed to get through the rounds again, then i will have to do medical check up again. which means they will see the 2 metal rods through the x-ray. i was wondering if that will affect my chance to get into SIA because i had done an operation before? and the scar? i was thinking since i can hide it when i wear the uniform, so it is not very much of an issue. correct me if i am wrong.

PLEASE ADVICE! i am so desperate.

dude.. i think we have the same problem about scoliosis,,,
i've already signing the deed of convenant before they said i was declared unfit due to scoliosis,,and then i got second opinion from another doctor that its mild scoliosis and less than 20degree angle,,i sent an email to SIA,, and they say i can't...
i also thinking about operation or therapy,,but the doctor said its imposible for people above 20 years old,,,,
so now im confuse how to solved this problem because i really want to be a flight attendant for singapore air..

[windancer04]

can someone recommend a place to do a x-ray check for scoliosis?? Cos i wanna do a check myself 1st if not i will be as sad as 50cents. Hee.

[yul]

can someone recommend a place to do a x-ray check for scoliosis?? Cos i wanna do a check myself 1st if not i will be as sad as 50cents. Hee.

agree with you. If can we singaporeGirl wannabes better go and have a check on Scoliosis first. If we really got it more than 25 degree....than at least we will stop trying hard on those rounds of interview...but finally we will feel like your dream/future is black out in a sudden....

[windancer04]

Hey i got some info here, i call up Mount E to check up the price for the x-ray, its $147 b4 GST. But we cant juz walk in like tt we must have a referral letter, hope this help!

[chiro]

Don't be frustrated.
Do yoga. Consult with yoga instructor stating your problem and goal and to correct the spinal problem.

It can be cured within 3-6months without operation.
Spinal or any kinds bone operation is the least, least, least option to consider. Because more serious problem will occur after 1-2 years later.

I suffered long with spinal problems as you see my previous post, i am quite better now doing yoga 3-4 times per week.
Chiro does not help at all. It looks like relieving the pain instantly but comes back if you don't get chiro treatment while you keep your habitual wrong postures unchanged.

Good luck !

[Plavt]

Don't be frustrated.

It can be cured within 3-6months without operation.

This is the kind of post I call garbage; your situation will doubtless be different to the other people here so who are you to make such a statement? I doubt if there is any medical evidence to support even your own experience which at best will be temporary.

[Rule303]

o.k. I'm one of those anonymous browsers, quite happy to read other ppl's comments, but this one has encouraged me to join to input on 2 points made in this thread.

A quick google search looking at non surgical treatments and methods for scoliosis shows a number of hits for different alternative therapies which revolve around physio practices/methodologies and bracing techniques, or a combination of the two. here are some of the more common ones referenced:-

Scroth Therapy - German method of physio that appears to have some success and a number of strong supporters with successful treatments on the web.

Rahmouni bracing method has documented success in adults - albeit the figures I have seen online (and taken with a grain of salt I guess) only show a small sample size for adults (>20 yo) with 4 out of 7 treatments showing greater than 50% correction - (15 out of 17 under 20 with > 50% improvement), ref http://www.skoliose-info-forum.de/viewtopic.php?t=1853 for some v interesting before/after pics and xrays of results. (site in german)

Study by Dr Vert Mooney (USA) Physio methodology "Preliminary experience indicates that this treatment may stop curve progression and may improve the curve." http://www.spineandsport.com/foundation ... liosis.asp

Topical site of first hand experience of a 40yo female scoliosis sufferer who used yoga to fully correct her condition. http://www.ctds.info/scoliosis_exercises.html Very interesting site to read on alternative non-surgical methods. some good medical and alternative references and links.

On another note I am concerned with the reponse of Plavt. Shame on you! you are supposed to be a moderator. Shouldn't this be a forum where people may speak their experiences without being told that their input is garbage? Isn't the moderators role to remove or edit offensive material, to hose down flamewars and to possibly encourage contributors comments? Maybe a question asking for evidence would have been more diplomatic and productive?
No doubt *everyones* conditions are different, so how do you determine which ones are valid to make comment and which aren't? For medical evidence, suggest you refer to some of the above links that reference material by doctors trained in the treatment of scoliosis, and again, who are you to decide that someone else's (apparently successful) experience *will* only be temporary without any evidence of your own to support such statements?
And finally, just *maybe* the OP's condition can be addressed via non-surgical means? I wish you luck 50c.thoughts.

You hang in ther 'Chiro' whoever you are and don't let the mods bully you.
( and I will be most surprised is this post lasts more than 1 hour....)