Kids Health Matters
Tag: bracing

We are celebrating Spine Awareness Month with resources to help you get all the information you need on scoliosis and #KidsSpineHealth! 

The day was Christmas Eve, the year was 2003 and the Ketelhohns were resting and watching a movie in their home near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was an idyllic evening, but their youngest daughter, 8-month-old, Kate, had a slight fever. It was the type of malady that many children experience throughout their development. There was no reason to worry, until there was.

"Every step Sophia takes is a testament to the countless dedicated individuals who made it possible," says her mother, Susan Slinkard. Sophia and her family traveled from Arkansas to Minnesota for major neurosurgery aimed at reducing Sophia's spasticity.

Most parents would tell you that having a child changes your life in ways you never could have imagined. That certainly was the case for my husband, Mike and me. Our daughter, Peyton, is now 6 years old, and it’s been a journey of hope, faith and love.

Maia Gochez pursues anything that catches her fancy: horseback riding, cute sandals, traveling the country. And she’s courageous enough to overcome anything that might stand in the way—even her cerebral palsy diagnosis.

After a surprising scoliosis diagnosis, Avital Harris wore a back brace for two years. Now she is sharing her story, and plans for the future.

"I realized, for the first time, that I was shooting straight. Due to my scoliosis, I'd been overcompensating." Erika, a basketball player, gained confidence after surgery to correct her spinal curvature.

Beauty and imperfection aren’t mutually exclusive. It’s our differences that make us beautiful and irreplicable individuals. See how Alexis, a talented dancer who has scoliosis, recently celebrated the successful end to her treatment.