My Transitioning-Out-of-the-Brace-Appointment Story: A Reflection

I’m a Positive Polly most of the time, but, as you may have noticed by the last post, I was all hot and bothered after THE appointment. Now, I don’t have an explanation for what I wrote, and the more time that has past, the less sense it seems to make (in my experience, it usually works the other way around *insert shrugging emoji-like thing made out of parentheses*).

However, time has definitely helped set my head straight. It has been well over a month since I cut my brace wearing nearly in half, and it has been ABSOLUTE BLISS, let me tell you. For the first week or so, my back was a bit sore from adjusting to not having a little plastic friend to help me stand up straight (and, I must admit, there are still mornings that I wake up hobbling around like my grandpa). But, that soreness has been worth it. It has been so great to be able to swim two practices in a day without having to worry about rushing home to try to put on the brace because I’ve already been out of it for too long (or, at least, it feels as good as almost 10 miles of swimming and an hour of weights could feel?).

There is still a part of me, that sometimes, wants to keep my brace on, or wear it out, just for the sake of having it with me. This is the part of me that is still hard to understand. Has anyone else dealt with this? It’s strange, but having the brace off less has definitely made me appreciate it more.

That’s not to say that there are times, when (as selfish as this is), I wish I could have the brace off even longer than the 14 hours that my doctor currently allows. It was only two months ago that I was wearing the brace 20 hours. Wow. These feelings are pretty rare, though.

All in all, I have to admit, I have been lovin’ this non brace life...especially considering the hot weather that has come to visit (it was 115 degrees today! I was only outside for a few minutes at a time, but as soon as I would step out of the airconditioning, the warm air would wrap around me like a cozy hug (or suffocate me like a blanket that cannot be undone...same difference).

Wherever you are in your scoliosis journey, whether you’ve just been braced and it seems like the non-brace life is non-existence, or you are completely done with bracing, and as happy as a clam, it is important for us to always remember, we’re bent, not broken! :)