“I have a doctor’s appointment Friday”, Kaylee Wiggins remembers Mollie telling her. Mollie Winer, age 14, dancer at New England School of Dance for 11 years and student at Goffstown High School had no idea this day would change her life. “When I first found out about needing a back brace my mind was racing with questions. How Long do I have to wear it? When will I get it? Is there another solution?” Mollie recalls.
A back brace can be needed when a person has scoliosis, defined as sideways curvature in the spine. Mollie had been experiencing pain in her back for quite some time now. She expresses, “In around the 6th grade I was growing very fast with very painful growing pains. I told the doctor on my normal yearly check up that my back started to hurt quite a bit. She then went to check if I had a curve in my spine. She told me that it was only two degrees and it’s not that big of a deal, but I knew this pain wasn’t normal.”
With abnormal pain, and dreams of becoming a professional dancer, Mollie was now faced with a great challenge. Her spine was in fact not at a two degree curve, but at a 45 degree curve. When Mollie first found out about the brace, she remembers “At first whenever I thought about my 45 degree curve I would just want to cry. I felt hopeless and that my dreams of dancing could never come true.” Kaylee mentions how Mollie’s morale has stayed high throughout these past weeks. Through conversation, Kaylee has learned about Mollie’s dreams of becoming a professional dancer. When asking Mollie if her expectations for her future in dance changed she states “Not at all. I’m still trying to apply to schools for dance and I’m still planning on becoming a professional. This small setback won’t stop me from achieving my dreams.”
Not only has her life in dance changed, but also her school life has become more difficult. Mollie explains, “At times it makes me feel chunky and boxy. I also find it very hard to find the right clothes to wear with it. Especially at school I’m scared to show it because I’m afraid people will judge me even though they don’t know the story.” Kaylee adds to this, “She is definitely concerned about how to dress to cover the brace.” Finding the right people to support her and be around has been a key to her coping. Mollie talks about how her mom thought her back was just sore from dance, but now that her family knows she has scoliosis, her mom has been more understanding and supportive.
Currently, Mollie is able to take the brace off only while dancing and showering. Throughout the weeks she slowly builds up to wearing it full time, first by wearing it six hours, then 12, then full time to school and while sleeping. In about a year and a half, she will switch to a night brace, specifically made to only sleep in. Consequently, many sleepless nights have arisen from the uncomfort of the brace. Kaylee takes this into consideration, “She has also said she’ll have to wear this brace for years and I think that is a scary thought because that changes how she’ll have to live the next few years.”
Friends say, “I was shocked because you would have never been able to tell she needed a back brace if she never told you.”
