Teen with scoliosis travels to Asheville for special back brace
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — "So, we're going to get a height measurement here."
Anna Shea Holmes, 14, is standing tall despite a diagnosis of scoliosis, or curvature of the spine.
"I was hurting a little bit," she recalled. "It was like back pains when I was running or anything like that."
"It was very shocking to see that curve in your daughter's back that way," Anna Shea's mother Marshea Holmes said.
The teen added, "I was super nervous of (having surgery) because I knew people who had it and weren't able to walk anymore."
To prevent the curvature in her spine from getting worse, the pair traveled from Augusta to Ability Prosthetics and Orthotics in Asheville for a Wood Cheneau Rigo brace.
"It's a three-dimensional scoliosis brace, and it is atypical from other braces on the market," explained Amira Mouad, a certified prosthetist and orthotist. "It delivers 3-D correction."
An X-ray from January (2019) shows a curvature of 31 degrees. By June, the curvature was 20 degrees.
Now, it's zero.
"We were able to manage it and get the best outcome possible, obviously," remarked the relieved mom.
The teen now wears the brace only half the time, continues physical therapy and should be out of the device completely by the time she is 16.
Insurance covered the cost of Anna Shea's brace.
