FOOTBALLING teenager Eliza Partridge always dreamed of a future in sport.
The 13-year-old, from Winchcombe, hoped one day to become a PE teacher or a professional sports woman.
But the youngster was diagnosed last year with scoliosis, a medical condition in which a patient's spine is curved from side to side.
The teenager, who had always been fit and active when she was growing up, was told she would need a 10-hour operation to fuse her spine from top to bottom, which involves inserting metal rods on either side before it is fused solid.
Her mother had started to notice that her shoulder blade was protruding on one side and she was starting to get tired more quickly than normal.
Eliza said: "Scoliosis completely rocked my world.
"I have always been so passionate about keeping fit and playing sports, getting up on the pitch and giving absolutely everything to performing.
"But when I started feeling tired and getting pain down my back, it was really hard to stay motivated.
"I struggled to keep up with all my practices and I lost loads of confidence.
"Everyone around me was really worried and it was hard because I felt like certain things were being kept from me."
Instead of the surgery, her parents sent her to the Scoliosis SOS clinic in London, where non-surgical treatments have put her back on track to playing sports.
It included exercises and physiotherapy sessions.
The condition, which affects more than four per cent of the population, can lead to fatal heart and lung problems if left untreated.
The four-week treatment course has now given her a goal to get back on the pitch again.
Eliza added: "I feel like myself again.
"I felt like my world had fallen apart and I didn't know how to cope with all the emotions that were going around in my head. I just wanted to be able to run around like my friends and be a real team player.
"I would start a match and then have to give up after 10 minutes.
"Just the thought of being normal again was enough and it helped me to push myself and get amazing results.
"Surgery was something I never wanted to consider."
