Brace Yourself

As my curve began to increase, there needed to be something to slow it down and control it. A brace was the solution. At eleven years old, I went to my first brace fitting. They measured my sizes and what was needed to create a perfect brace. I was honored to be able to pick out the coloring which was pink camouflage. Even though the brace looked pretty, it felt quite the opposite.

This brace was thick plastic filled with padding inside that was secured by velcro in the front. The velcro had lines drawn on them to indicate how tight I should be wearing the brace, which was very tight. The brace covered my hips and entire back. It stopped directly under my chest and the right side went up to my armpit because one of my shoulders was lower than the other due to my curve. The placement of the padding was directed towards which parts of my spine needed to be straightened out. You can imagine that does not sound too comfortable.

I wore that brace for about fourteen hours a day for two years. I wore it to bed and at school but never during physical activities. This brace made me look very boxy as it was worn over an undershirt under my clothes. Therefore, people could not see the total brace, but part of it would show. Unfortunately, even with the brace, my curve still grew. At this age, I was going through a small growth spirt that impacted my curve. My curve grew so much, I was coming close to the point I would need surgery. The doctor insisted on not wearing the brace and waiting till my curve reaches the surgery degree. My parents and I decided that was not the perfect plan for us because we would want to know a definite time to plan around sports and school. This lead us to finding another doctor that a friend recommended. With another doctor, I got another brace!

Brace #2

Myself at thirteen years old wearing my new brace over my undershirt.

The new doctor explained to me that my former brace’s design was not the right fit for my specific curve. My new type of brace was far different than my old one. It was clear plastic and instead of velcro it had metal latches. Since the brace was metal, I had to put duct tape on certain parts of it or else the brace would put holes in my clothes. I decorated the brace will different colors and patterns of duct tape and colored designs on the clear parts with Sharpees. At the time, I thought it looked amazing, but looking back it looked embarrassing to say the least. The brace covered my hips and lower back all the way to my collar bone. Similar to my old one, I wore it under my clothes. The metal latches were attached right by my collar bone and by my hips. Each latch had to click three times, which was very difficult for me to do as the brace squeezed my body a great deal.

As I would struggle to get the brace on, I would have to hold my breath to allow the latches to click three times. The padding would rub and compress my skin creating purple and red marks all along my back. The brace would also create an indent on where the padding pushed my body. It caused much more pain than my previous one. It was difficult for me to even sit down and do schoolwork while wearing it. There were points in school where I would have to ask my teacher if I could remove it because of the irritation it caused on my skin. I wore this brace for about sixteen hours a day. It was far more difficult to wear it in the summer time because I had more of a schedule during the school year. I thought I did a pretty good job wearing it for those hours, but it was not enough.

At my next appointment, I got an X-ray with my doctors. As we were examining the X-ray, we realized my curve had reached fifty degrees, which is the point of surgery. I was shocked at the thought of having this surgery but also guilty thinking I did not wear my brace enough. If I was barely able to handle wearing a brace, how was I able to handle a major surgery?