Gemma Riley, 15, can finally stand up straight after suffering from scoliosis, which left her with a 65-degree curve in her spine - shaped like an S-bend - and in constant pain. Surgeons carried out a five-hour operation to twist the top of her spine by 65 degrees and clamp it in place with a titanium rod and pins, leaving her with a 13-inch scar.
Yet within two months she was spotted by modelling scouts and she is aiming to celebrate by winning the Teen Princess UK competition having got down to the last 20 models.
Gemma, from Great Billing, Northants, was diagnosed with scoliosis in February 2007 after suffering increasing back pain and sleepless nights that often forced her to miss school. She was born with the condition which worsened as she grew, turning her into a hunchback as her spine formed the shape of an S-bend.
Without invasive surgery, which carried a high risk of paralysis, Gemma would have been confined to life in a wheelchair and constant agony. She underwent the operation last October 2008 at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford.
She said: "I've finally got my life back on track. I had been in pain for years and it was making me depressed. Since I can remember I've wanted to be a model but I gave up on it. Now I've had a massive boost of confidence and it couldn't come at a better time."
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