Tyler High School senior doesn’t let scoliosis define him

Published 5:45 am Thursday, May 16, 2024

Editor’s Note: This is one in a series of stories highlighting graduating high school seniors in Smith County.

Up until the 10th grade, Tyler High School senior Tyson Wilson played football. The sport was something he dedicated his time and energy to for several hours every single day.

“If I’m not practicing in the season, I’m practicing in the off season,” he recalled. “If I’m not practicing, I’m watching game films.”

Until he couldn’t anymore.

Wilson got a physical which led to a diagnosis of scoliosis — a sideways curve of the spine. A further exam revealed Wilson actually has two curvatures.

“For most people, it’s a slight curvature towards the middle or lower end of the back,” he said. “I have such an exaggerated curvature in the lower end of my back that it kind of makes one at the top of my back.”

According to the Mayo Clinic, signs of scoliosis usually begin in adolescence, and most cases are mild but some curves may worsen as children grow.

“I played with it and when that football game happened, I felt it,” Wilson said. “The doctor’s diagnosis didn’t change. They wanted me to stop playing so … I did.”

The Mayo Clinic also states scoliosis treatment for children is usually to wear a brace between 13 to 16 hours a day. However, for teens and adults, braces aren’t an option because of the growth development. In Wilson’s case, he underwent surgery to have an expanding rod in his spine.

“The doctors told me if we had caught it earlier, a brace might have prevented it,” he said. “But we were past the point of prevention so the rod was the correction for me.”

Wilson had his sights set on being a Division 1 player and making his way into the NFL, but after being told no more of the contact sport, he felt as if he had nothing else to do.

“Junior year was kind of hard … I felt kind of empty,” he said. “I had nothing to fill that void but my headphones and my thoughts. It was a very uncomfortable place to be.”

In his last season, Wilson played on the varsity team as the defensive end for the Lions.

“Football is such a time commitment and … such a physical career but you don’t really think about anything else because it’s what we’re in love with,” Wilson said. “So, when I didn’t have that anymore, I really redirected my time and energy.”

As melancholy as he felt his situation was at the time, he didn’t allow his schoolwork to suffer. Wilson began to take pride in his studies and really make them a priority beginning in in middle school. He carried that with him through the rest of his schooling, capping off his high school career as the No. 1 student in his class.

“I took advanced classes and that was really how I started to understand how to do things my way,” he said. “I focused on just getting A’s in my classes.”

During COVID, Wilson read more books and also learned about pattern and recognition, which enabled him to study better and advance in his classes.

“I’ve always been interested in books but I started reading more and then my processing got quicker,” he said. “I would get my work done in class, so I didn’t really have any homework and then took tests when I had to. I would say I’m good at putting things together, in the sense of ingenuity.”

After his diagnosis, Wilson said it had been a hard adjustment period; however, it was during his senior year that a shift happened with his outlook. He wasn’t going to let scoliosis define him.

“Life goes on … it could be way worse,” he said. “If not being a professional football player is the only thing my scoliosis is gonna ‘rob’ me of, then life is still good.”

Wilson plans to attend University of Texas in Austin but said it is a toss-up on whether to focus on business, psychiatry and communications.

“I really value when people take time out of their day to present to me their story and tell me what they could have done better,” Wilson said. “It’s almost better than advice.”

Between the encouragement of his teachers and his family, Wilson feels that the list of people to credit for his success is long.

“I don’t know if I express it enough, or if I appreciate it enough, but I’m very proud to be in this position,” Wilson said. “I do recognize it’s a great honor and I’m thankful for everybody who believed that I could get here and who’s been supportive of me after being here.”

Tyler High School’s graduation is set for 8 p.m. Friday at Christus Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium.