spinecor

[Celia]

Hey....I just thought of something Deirdre has been wearing this brace for one year and naturally there has been *some* vertebral growth. If we get the same measurement straps that we got last year when she was 43 inches tall - she is now 45 1/2 inches tall - the new straps might be too tight for her current stature size and this is why Dr. Coillard wants to see Deirdre before giving me the new straps. The old straps she has now have naturally stretched a little to accomodate her growth BUT they are still snug enough to hold her curve.

[gerbo]

and remember, regular washing keeps them thight as well (lisanna hates the washing as they all feel so much tighter after)

[cherylplinder]

I had the same thought that you did, Gerbo. It could be that the "worn out" bands have less elasticity and hold the curve better than the bands that are stretchy. Maybe they are looking for the reasons that some clinics get excellent results with the brace and some do not.
There is possibly still some fine tuning to be done.
I am still a happy customer at this point.

[gallathea]

new to all this

Hi everyone.

I've been following this thread for a few weeks since we found out our six-year-old daughter has scoiosis and needs bracing. After following the discussion, doing a pile of on-line research and talking to Christine (thank you, Christine!), we decided to go for the Spinecor. We just couldn't stomach putting her in the Boston Brace for 8 years (we saw Dr. Emans here at Boston Children's and that was his recommendation.) We just got back from seeing Drs. Rivard and Colliard and Annabel is now in the Spinecor, but we have a ton of questions.

First off, some factoids: Annabel went from a 28/18 to a 19/12 right away, so that seemed promising. We found Dr. Colliard's bedside manner a bit off-putting (she basically called her fat in front of her, which I loathe given how tough it is to be a girl with a good self-image to begin with--never mind having to be a girl in a brace), but she certainly seems to know her stuff. Rivard seems like the optimist of the operation, and Sue-Ann (the technician who assisted with the fitting) was phenomenal.

Now the questions: Our biggest issue is with the crotch and thigh straps. It sounds like that's tough for a few of you. We cut out the crotch of some exercise shorts and put the body suit over that to help with the chafing, but going to the bathroom has been really hard. She gets the thigh straps wet (could they be positioned too high?). Also, we don;t get why it's okay to unsnap the crotch bands without having to put the whole brace back on, but it's not okay to take off the thigh straps to use the bathroom. Isn't it the crotch straps that anchor the pelvic base?

Any other suggestions on how to manage the underwear situation?

That's all for now, but I look forward to a long online relationshipo with you other Spinecor families.

Caroline

[MATJESNIC]

Caroline,

Welcome!!! I wish you lots of success. I agree with you about the "fat" comment. In this country, many parents are sensitive about that because we don't want our children developing eating disorders and such. I'm sure she didn't even realize she said that.

I know what you mean about the crotch snaps and thigh bands. If you undo the thigh bands, the entire brace will shift. If you undo the crotch snaps, you are okay.

My daughter has been wearing hers for a full year. She has tried wearing the brace with nothing underneath and hated it. She has tried all sorts of panties and hated that. She has always loved wearing a bodysuit with snaps. So that's what she does. I have never heard of the thigh bands getting wet. But be sure she holds the crotch snaps up so they don't dangle into the toilet.

I wish you all the best of success. Feel free to ask me anything at anytime.

Melissa

[Celia]

Hi Caroline,

Deshea also travels from the Boston area to Montreal to see Drs Rivard and Coillard. Correct me if I'm wrong.... but statistically children who are little on the overweight side do not do well with conventional rigid bracing however I don't think this is necessarily the case with the Spinecor because I recall one case of a young man who was/is "obese" and his curve corrected completely after a few years of wearing the spinecor brace. I believe his story is briefly mentioned in last year's SRS presentation.

As for bathroom issues....I'd be happy to e-mail you privately if you like.

[christine2]

Hi Caroline

try Celias private message suggestion it works for us!! My daughter needs NO HELP now. She has been wearing her brace for 1 month. We just ordered body suits with velcro from special -clothes.com I will let you know how they are.

I am very proud of my daughter at gymnastics today she was hot and took off her shirt and exposed her brace to the whole class. She did not care what anyone thought. This whole ordeal has made her more confident in herself.

Christine

[Celia]

Great news Christine !!! I'm really happy to hear things are going well and I hope it's goods news all the way on Monday.


Caroline, I was thinking about your experience with Dr. Coillard. She is such a sweet, brilliant doctor and you have to remember that English is not her native language and it's difficult for a non native speaker to know what is the "right" word is to describe a given situation or what might come across as politically correct or incorrect.

[mariaf]

In any language it is not acceptable nor professional to refer to someone as fat - particularly right in front of them. The doctor should have known better. I would be offended, as well, if it were my child.

[Celia]

Maria,

I wasn't there of course, but weight does play an issue in bracing as we all know from studies that have been conducted AND is a real "factor" in treatment. What is the politically correct way of saying "fat" in French without offending the anyone - being a non native French speaker would you know

[mariaf]

You're right - you and I were not there. The mom WAS there - and she WAS put off by it.

I'm simply stating how I see it. I probably would have been put off as well and can sympathize with this mother's feelings (as Melissa agreed earlier).

You are, of course, free to interpret it differently. I wish everyone well and don't come on here to argue with anyone

[Celia]

We're not arguing

[mariaf]

I'm glad

It sounded like you were upset at my interpretation of the doctor's comments. I'm sure whatever she meant or didn't mean by it, that she is a very good doctor. It's just that, as parents, we can all be sensitive to anything said about our child, regardless of the intent.

[gallathea]

didn't mean to cause a ruckus

Hey everyone:

I didn;t mean to cause a ruckus with my comments. Clearly Colliard is brilliant and I'm under a lot of stress. I just wanted to vent a bit. But from now on I'll stick to talking about brace issues.

Hope we can start on a new foot,
Caroline

[mariaf]

Caroline -

No need to apologize - you didn't cause a ruckus - we always have "lively" discussions here - but everyone tries to help..........

I wish you all the best