I [17F] was diagnosed with scoliosis 2 years ago, and I was found to have a 45 degrees and 28 degrees curve at the top and bottom of my spine respectively. My sisters have scoliosis also, but my parents don’t. (I haven’t had the operation).

During exam season my back gets extremely tense despite me doing my physiotherapy exercises and yoga, and I have been experiencing back pains and spasms that make it harder for me to study and do daily tasks.

I told my Dad about the pain that I have been experiencing and he said to my Mum that he should treat my twin sister and I to a massage before my exams, which clearly I was appreciative of.

I started saying more about my pain as I hadn’t finished what I was saying previously then my Dad said to my Mum as a joke ‘Look, she’s really making sure she gets that massage’.

Now, I understand that this was meant to be a lighthearted joke but I didn’t take it well and had an upset look on my face because it felt as if he was undermining the pain I experience on a daily basis in exchange for a cheap joke.

Now him and my Mum are trying to make out that I’m ungrateful for the massage offer and that it was stupid of me to assume that they would ever joke about my scoliosis. I feel like they don’t understand that this is a sensitive topic for me. Despite them saying that because they’re old they experience back pain, I can’t accept that they can really empathise with my scoliosis, which I will have for the rest of my life.

Did I really overreact? AITAH?