Thank you for the info. That is funny about the ice, I'll have to tell him about that. We don't know what kind of brace he will wear. We don't even have an appointment yet to have him fitted for one because we are waiting on an authorization from the insurance company. They will not give us an appointment without this authorization. We tried to rush this but the insurance company does not see this as an emergency so we have to wait. My son is worried that his curve is getting worse while we wait. It changed enough in three months that when the doctor walked in and saw his X-rays, he said "Oh my gosh." My son said "Okay, now I'm really scared" and I could see he was struggling to keep from crying, but he managed to do it. The doctor was very blunt and told him if he didn't wear the brace he would have to have surgery and they would have to implant metal rods in his back to keep his spine straight. I think it is a very normal reaction to have some anxiety about this. I don't know what anyone, including a therapist, could say to him that would make this any better. I remember when I was his age thinking that wearing braces on my teeth and a few blemishes were hard to deal with, but I had lots of company. I wasn't the only one dealing with those issues.

I tried to find online support groups but too many people were describing the braces as torture devices. He has one cousin on his dad's side of the family who wore a scoliosis brace during her teen years but she still had back pain and ended up having back surgery as an adult. I don't know if I want her to talk to my son or not. He is afraid of surgery because he knows there can be complications with any kind of surgery. He is reminded of it every day when he sees his grandmother who had routine surgery and came out with brain damage and severe memory loss and requiring 24 hour care. I think we need to find something fun to do to take our minds off of all of this. He and I both manage difficult things better if we allow ourselves some kind of reward or something to look forward to, but my son will have to wear a brace until he stops growing and he is only 11 now. Maybe we will let him choose a new game when he gets through the first month of wearing the brace.

And I guess I will have to forget having him work on getting dressed and ready faster.