TAMPA, Fla. – An unlikely contestant is scheduled to compete in this year’s Miss Suncoast Pageant. Melissa Gonzales, a 17-year-old senior at Tampa Catholic High School, is taking on new challenges after recovering from spinal surgery to correct her battle with scoliosis in July.
Gonzales worked through rehabilitation and was back into the dance studio as soon as she was released by her doctor, Dr. David Siambanes, the founder of the Children’s Scoliosis Center and director of the St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital Scoliosis Center.
“Even though this type of surgery is very serious in nature, breakthroughs in surgical technology have resulted in extremely expedited recovery times,” Siambanes said.
Upon returning to the dance studio, the unexpected happened when Gonzales was approached to compete in a beauty pageant by the Miss Suncoast Pageant director.
“I had been working on routines for my competition next month and was shocked when I was asked to compete in the Miss Suncoast Pageant,” explained Gonzales. “But when I realized it was a platform for me to talk about scoliosis and create more awareness, I knew it was the right thing to do. The pageant will be the begin of my campaign to spread awareness to those suffering from Scoliosis.”
In the pageant, Gonzalez will compete in four categories including evening gown, swimsuit, interview and talent, which will be her new dance solo.
Her mother, Vickie Gonzalez, has been her biggest supporter and says this has been a whole new world preparing for a beauty pageant compared to previous dance competitions.
Melissa is now an advocate for getting the word out to other families and children about how successful scoliosis surgery can be. She wants to use her platform in the pageant to continue creating awareness for scoliosis and promote addressing it as early as possible.
“It’s always great to see a patient recover and we’re extremely proud of Melissa’s efforts to share her scoliosis experience with others,” Siambanes said.
