STUDENT PROFILE: CATALINA FOOTHILLS HIGH SCHOOL
Her unrestrained strength
A.E. Araiza / staff
The brace "is a metaphor for the sort of person that I have become,'' says Elizabeth Rhoades
|
Restrictive brace shaped Elizabeth Rhoades' strong desire to thrive
By Angela Soto
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Elizabeth Rhoades received some "uncuddly, restrictive and often uncomfortable" support as a teen-ager. She had to wear a back brace 23 hours a day for 2 years.
The back brace, called a thoracolumbular spinal orthosis (TLSO), "became part of who I am," said Roades, 18. "If you are looking at me from the front, my spine has a little curve to the right and a little curve to the left."
It is called scoliosis (sko-le-O-sis).
Most people have some kind of curve in their spine, but usually it is minimal. When the curve in a person's spine keeps increasing as the person grows, it can interfere with lung function and other organs, Rhoades said.
When Rhoades' curve got to 20 degrees, doctors decided they needed to put her in a brace.
The brace weighs about 3 to 4 pounds and is made of hard plastic, designed to push part of her spine in one direction and force another part in the opposite direction. Straps and clamps hold the brace on and when positioned incorrectly, it can cause great wear and tear on the skin.
"My mom and dad wanted me to start wearing it right away so I wouldn't agonize over it. So I started wearing it the last three days of eighth grade," said Rhoades, who is now a senior at Catalina Foothills High School.
"I wore it to school and nobody said anything. I told my teachers but didn't tell anyone else."
While her peers were wearing belly-button-showing, strapless, Britney Spears shirts, Rhoades was wearing long- sleeved, two-sizes-too-big shirts. And the brace could be seen from the top portion of her back.
"It would look like a wing was sticking out," she said, smiling. If she bent over to pick up a pencil, she would use a set of stiff and precise moves to avoid toppling over.
Though the brace came off only when Rhoades showered or exercised, she didn't let it keep her from doing activities she enjoyed.
"Elizabeth chose horseback riding as a physical activity in which she could participate despite her back problems," counselor Shary Wentz said. "She takes pleasure in the challenge of controlling the power of the horse with her movements and trying to think ahead of his actions."
Rhoades is also a reporter for the school paper and participated in Spanish club and Girls State.
In her sophomore year, the orthopedist said she could be weaned off the brace, but Rhoades didn't feel she was done growing.
"And I wasn't done growing," she said. "I had an X-ray and my bone density measurement was 4." Five is when you stop growing, so she decided she wanted to keep wearing it.
Her determination paid off.
The brace has been off for seven months, the curve in her spine is stable and "should never cause me problems," Rhoades said.
Rhoades hasn't made a final decision on where she'll attend college, but no matter where she goes, the back brace will always be a part of her.
"It is a metaphor for the sort of person that I have become," she said. "Strong and supportive and focused on the internal shape of my character."
