At just 16 years old, Lecksa Joel already knows the meaning of defying the odds life has placed upon her.
Lecksa, a junior at Payson High School, has been dancing since the age of seven, starting with gymnastics before finding her passion for hip hop.
“My family, we love music,” she said. “We’re always listening to music at full blast — and so me and my sister, we were always just dancing.”
But while her love for dance grew, Lecksa began experiencing a physical challenge that could’ve derailed her pursuit of dancing.
At a young age, she was diagnosed with scoliosis.
“I found out I had scoliosis because I started to get a lot of back pain at dance, and it kind of just like gradually the pain gradually grew as I kept dancing,” Laksa recalled.
As Lecksa dealt with severe back pain, she feared that dancing may no longer be in her future.
Her mother initially took her to a local chiropractor, where, after a number of X-rays, they identified a slight curve in her spine.
From there, Lecksa and her family were referred to Shriners Children’s in Salt Lake City for specialized care.
The thought of having to undergo treatment at a big medical facility, she said, was a little intimidating — at first.
“I was a little like, ‘Oh my gosh, what am I getting myself into?’” Lecksa recalled. “Especially because I heard I might have to get a brace and I’m gonna have to do X-rays and all of that.”
But it didn’t take long before the staff at Shriners Children’s helped her feel at ease.
“Everyone there that I was working with, they were so nice and they helped me through it. And they were really what made me get rid of my nerves almost immediately,” she said.
According to Shriners Children’s, approximately 2% to 5% of children develop scoliosis, where the spine curves instead of growing in a straight line.
Aside from the pain, doctors say that in more severe cases, if left untreated, scoliosis can potentially impact the heart, lungs and other internal organs as they grow and become more crowded.
Laksa ultimately needed a back brace, which over the past several years has helped relieve her pain, build strength and allow her to keep moving.
While Lecksa said she loves music, for her, dancing serves as an outlet to express how she’s feeling.
“I struggle to talk about my emotions, but dance gives me that,” she said. “Dance gives me the way to be able to tell my story without having to speak.”
During her sophomore year, she was on Payson High’s dance company team — which in itself was a memorable experience. And just this year, Lecksa checked another goal off her bucket list by making the school’s drill team — something that at one point, she thought was out of reach.
“When I saw the list of names of everyone who made the team, I just screamed. I was like, ‘Mom, I did it,’” she said.
Being on the drill team allows her to participate in high school sporting events and share her love of dance with a bigger crowd.
She also welcomes the competitive nature of being on the drill team and the workouts that will help along her journey with scoliosis.
Lecksa recently participated in the annual Shriners Children’s Walk for Love at Utah’s Hogle Zoo, where she connected with others around her age facing similar challenges. She said she hopes her story of resilience and determination encourages others with scoliosis not to give up on their dreams and aspirations.
“It’s not going to stop you from doing the things you love. And honestly, I think it’s something that should only make you stronger,” she said.
