Thanks again for the information. None of the doctors my son went to noticed the leg length difference, not even the orthopedist, but the orthotist did, thankfully.

I like the orthotist. He used to be a mechanical engineer and he was very meticulous about measuring my son for the Boston brace. He told my son that it would be very uncomfortable but he was not in the business of torturing people although it might seem that way at first. He also told my son that he could tell he was "intellectually up there" and could understand why he had to wear the brace. He was very honest about how difficult it would be and that he would have to get used to things like sweating a lot. He also told him that there was no guarantee that bracing would be 100% successful and that he might still need surgery in the future but that his chances for avoiding surgery were much better if he wears it the way he is supposed to.

My son is on his third day of wearing the hard plastic brace and he is wearing it for about three hours at a time now. He says it is almost unbearable, especially after the first hour or so. It is more painful than either of us imagined it would be and it is harder for my son to breathe, so much so that he says it makes it hard to cry although he feels like he wants to. He even has a hard time sitting up straight in the brace because of tight hamstrings, but he is willing to go through pain now in the hope that his adult life will be better.

The orthopedist told us that he needs to wear it whenever he is out of bed, even for the dancing that goes along with the musical theater class. If he can't wear it then, he will need to quit. This is the one activity that felt really good about, an activity that he has done since he age four and the only place where he felt he fit in. He already quit Boy Scouts because they seem very focused on physical abilities and camping and 10-mile hikes and he wants to spend more time on activities that he can do with his abilities and not constantly be reminded of his disabilities.

I hope he gets used to the brace soon. It is hard to see him in pain and I know it makes it harder for him to learn.