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Response: How one surgeon discusses BrAIST

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  • Originally posted by Christyne View Post
    I'd like to say that my scoliosis journey began when I was diagnosed at 12. I then was connected with the Shriners who provide my care until I was 19.

    I had two curves; thoracic and lumbar. My thorasic curve was quite aggressive and at age 14 I started wearing the Milwaukee brace 23 hours a day. **this was 1984; small Midwestern town in Iowa. My mom was divorced at that time, working and raising two kids.**
    So, needless to say I wasn't the "norm". So what did I do? What any other teenager given half a chance would, I took it off. I would wait took she went to work, take it off and then make sure I had it back on by the time she got home.

    When I was 16 I had my first scoliosis surgery. Bone graft at the top followed by Harrington Rods from T5-T7.

    From that time on I was fine. I never had problems until about 5 years ago (age 38) when the pain started in my lumbar region.
    Fast forward to May 2013 when I had surgery for my lumbar curve which had increased to 35 degrees. Then in September I had 2 more to fix more crap.

    I guess what I'm saying is "here is the perspective of someone who had to face the consequences f their actions. Again, this is just my experience.

    Christyne
    Christyne,
    You don't necessarily need to blame yourself for needing those surgeries. My daughter-in-law had a custom fit brace that she faithfully wore for years. She said she felt it ruined her socially and she still has trauma from the experience. She still ended up needing surgery when she was 16. It was a much longer fusion than yours. My point is, there's no guarantee that the brace would have saved you from having surgery. There's just no way to tell for sure. We have bad backs. There's no cure. I think your dilemma comes from knowing you didn't give the brace a fair try. Milwaukee braces are notoriously the hardest braces to comply with. Please, don't beat yourself up over this. There are too many unknowns.
    Be happy!
    We don't know what tomorrow brings,
    but we are alive today!

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    • This might be an example of someone who was lied to about bracing. Or it could be an example of how the BrAIST results will inevitably be misused by lay people as we have seen many times already on this forum.
      Sharon, mother of identical twin girls with scoliosis

      No island of sanity.

      Question: What do you call alternative medicine that works?
      Answer: Medicine


      "We are all African."

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      • Originally posted by Pooka1 View Post
        how the BrAIST results will inevitably be misused by lay people as we have seen many times already on this forum.
        I don't know if misused by all lay people here as you are saying, but misinterpreted by at least one of them sure.. there are enough evidence: your posts!.

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