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Patient Stories

Patient Story: Bryce Purty

At just 12 years old, I discovered that I had idiopathic scoliosis. Quickly being reassured by my pediatrician, I left the children’s hospital not worrying about this. Apparently, a lot of people had scoliosis and are completely fine, so nothing was going to happen to me, right? Even then, it’ll probably fix itself. Within 3 months after the check up that determined I had scoliosis, I was fitted for and, soon after, in a brace to help prevent further severity of my curvature. They told me I had to wear this huge, hot, ugly, uncomfortable, encumbering hunk of junk under my clothes for as long as I could, every single day until I stopped growing. Having to wear it every day on top of the fact that I’d have to continue wearing it until I stopped growing, I thought, was absolutely absurd. Why me out of all people? Leaving my first visit to my back surgeon, I was in tears. The fact that I won’t be able to correct my scoliosis without surgery left me heartbroken.

Now, despite the fact that it was practically a life saving device, my brace wasn’t necessarily my number one priority when getting up in the morning. Is that really my only choice? Should have I worn my back brace more? The answer to both of those questions was definitely yes, but I didn’t want to accept those facts.

The degree of curvature was getting greater and greater after every checkup. It was getting worse to the point where I felt as if it was easily noticeable. In pictures, in the mirror, in sports, and even when I was just standing.

When I was 15, we started talking about surgery. Then, the date was set. July 15th, 2024. I began to dread the date of my surgery. Any moment where I saw 7 and 15 in the same context, I would be reminded of the horror that awaited me at the end of the summer. Am I going to recover quickly? What about my newly acquired job as an ice cream scooper? Sports? Everyday activities? I’d hate to go to physical therapy every week… I fit in hanging out with friends, getting my license, and eating at places I don’t go to often, all in a week right before my surgery. The thing is though, after following through with the surgery, I realized I didn’t have to be so worried. The stress leading up to it was quickly forgotten. Working through the anesthesia, I was up and walking the next morning, being released in the afternoon of the day after.

Currently, I’ve been released for all activities. Still working through physical therapy, I couldn’t have done it without my friends and family around me, supporting me and helping me lug around my school bag. I’m still working on bending, twisting and getting my strength back. While I don’t suggest non compliance, I’m forever grateful that things worked out for me. And as I’m on my way to a full recovery, I hope to help and inspire as many people as I can through Setting Scoliosis Straight.

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