Four Years and Four Braces Later: Lily’s Bracing Journey

Posted on by Scolios-us

Four Years and Four Braces Later: Lily's Bracing Journey

Hi! My name is Lily and I am 13 years old and live in Sunriver, Oregon. When I was 9 and in 4th grade I was having a really hard time taking deep breaths so my mom brought me to the doctor. My mom has asthma and scoliosis, so they thought that I had asthma and gave me an inhaler. While I was there, they also had me bend over to check for scoliosis and a week later I had an x-ray scheduled.

At the x-ray it turned out that the reason I was having breathing problems was because my spine was slightly pushing into my lungs and I had two curves at about 35 and 28 degrees. The doctors prescribed me a Boston Brace but after a lot of research my mom found the Wood Cheanau Rigo (WCR) Brace. This brace had very high success rates, so about two months later we went to San Francisco, California to get my first brace.

I am now on my 4th WCR Brace and in 8th grade. My first brace was blue butterflies, my second one was tattoo, my third one was blue swirls, and my fourth (current) brace is cream colored and I have decorated it with stickers. 

I have never kept my brace a secret. When I first got it I did a presentation for my 4th grade class on what scoliosis is and why I have to wear a brace. Since then I have done a presentation in 5th and 6th grade. I am proud of my scoliosis.

I used to wear my brace for 20 hours and now I only have to wear it for 16 hours and my curves have decreased to about 5 and 16 degrees. I have had so much success with my bracing and the doctors say that this is most likely my last brace.

Also, in 5th grade I started my own Central Oregon Curvy Girls Scoliosis Support Group and now I have a small group of girls who I meet with once a month to talk about our scoliosis and support each other. Two years ago I got to attend the International Curvy Girls convention in New York and it was so amazing to meet so many girls all over the world of all ages dealing with scoliosis. 

I also want to thank Scolios-us for making their Brace Mentor program for braced kids to talk to each other. And Higgy Bears for making awesome mini braces for stuffed animals, they are so amazing!! 

If you have read this far thank you, I know that my story is fairly long. Always remember that you are never alone in this, I am here for you!! Good luck with your scoliosis journey and I hope that you have as much success as I did.  

 

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Four Years and Four Braces Later: Lily's Bracing Journey

Hi! My name is Lily and I am 13 years old and live in Sunriver, Oregon. When I was 9 and in 4th grade I was having a really hard time taking deep breaths so my mom brought me to the doctor. My mom has asthma and scoliosis, so they thought that I had asthma and gave me an inhaler. While I was there, they also had me bend over to check for scoliosis and a week later I had an x-ray scheduled.

At the x-ray it turned out that the reason I was having breathing problems was because my spine was slightly pushing into my lungs and I had two curves at about 35 and 28 degrees. The doctors prescribed me a Boston Brace but after a lot of research my mom found the Wood Cheanau Rigo (WCR) Brace. This brace had very high success rates, so about two months later we went to San Francisco, California to get my first brace.

I am now on my 4th WCR Brace and in 8th grade. My first brace was blue butterflies, my second one was tattoo, my third one was blue swirls, and my fourth (current) brace is cream colored and I have decorated it with stickers. 

I have never kept my brace a secret. When I first got it I did a presentation for my 4th grade class on what scoliosis is and why I have to wear a brace. Since then I have done a presentation in 5th and 6th grade. I am proud of my scoliosis.

I used to wear my brace for 20 hours and now I only have to wear it for 16 hours and my curves have decreased to about 5 and 16 degrees. I have had so much success with my bracing and the doctors say that this is most likely my last brace.

Also, in 5th grade I started my own Central Oregon Curvy Girls Scoliosis Support Group and now I have a small group of girls who I meet with once a month to talk about our scoliosis and support each other. Two years ago I got to attend the International Curvy Girls convention in New York and it was so amazing to meet so many girls all over the world of all ages dealing with scoliosis. 

I also want to thank Scolios-us for making their Brace Mentor program for braced kids to talk to each other. And Higgy Bears for making awesome mini braces for stuffed animals, they are so amazing!! 

If you have read this far thank you, I know that my story is fairly long. Always remember that you are never alone in this, I am here for you!! Good luck with your scoliosis journey and I hope that you have as much success as I did.