Getting Braced

As with most adolescents the scoli story starts with that test they do at school. Bend over and touch your toes. Move on to the next. Only I didn't get to move on. It was more bending over and touching my toes as more and more people came to look at my spine. Little tingles in my belly began but I soon was better when I got to 'move on' to the next health station. But by the end of the day I had a note for my mom to come in to the health office the next day. That was just the start of it. From then on it was doctor appointments, xrays, etc. If your here, you most likely have gone thru it and know exactly what I am talking about.

Then the day you finally get that damn brace you were fitted for. Say goodbye to the life you had. Its over. Everything is different. In that one moment, it all changed for me. This tight yet bulky hunk of plastic took so much. Unless you've been in one, don't judge. And yes, I know people have it worse. But when you are going thru it, it IS the worst. Petty thoughts but they are honest. Hadn't even exited the office when my mom points out the lady that has the brace where it goes up in a ring and they have screws in her head. It could be worse I am reminded. I know. I know. But it was plenty bad as it was. Go out to the car and try hard to hold back the tears. Mom not saying anything either because she's trying to keep it together. BAM! Fudge! Just smacked the crap out of my head getting in the car. Yeah dumbass, you can't bend remember? Augh. That took some getting used to. And to be honest, I still smack my head from time to time.

Got home and my mom left immediately. Little did I know how hard it was for HER to hold it together. Absorbed in my own nightmare I completely lost it. Took off the brace and literally threw it across the room and into the tv. So unlike the timid, shy, quiet, good girl that I was. Cry, scream, lashing out. I was lost, mad, and confused. How could this be? Why me? And all that jazz. Shit. Mom was coming home. How in the heck was I suppose to get that damn thing back on? Oops. Didn't think about that one. :)

Like I said. Everything changed. Clothes no longer fit. A whole wardrobe needed to be purchased to fit over the brace. We didn't have a lot of money and so I got off brand whatevers that fit. Which added to the horror of having a brace. At that horrible age where appearance matters, I was the ugly ill dressed kid. I expected to be laughed at and made fun of. And I did. A bit. But I lived through it. I had some good friends. Thank you God for that.

Other changes that were obvious right away were change in diet. I couldn't even eat an apple without being stuffed and sore. The brace binding me so tight. Even my breathing was different. And sleeping on my stomach? Over! I can't even tell you how clumsy I became. My balance completely thrown off. Thankfully the brace covered my hips because I constantly ran into corners or edges of things. Graceful I was not. PE was killer. I had the teacher from hell itself. Situps, running the mile, the burns and bruises I got was pure torture. I do not remember that teacher fondly. If you have someone in your life wearing a brace, give them a break. The road they are traveling is not an easy one.

That's a good intro to how getting a brace for the first time goes, right? Next post will be about surgery. Just a few quick stories to bring you to the here and now.