I have written about my previous brace situation before. At age 14, I was fitted with a full Milwaukee Back Brace for a serious case of Scoliosis.

Two months after getting my dental orthodontia off (worn for 4 ½ years), I was placed in a back brace for the next 2 ½ years.
All through my early adolescence and for 23 hours a day, I was confined. The purpose was to put pressure on the curves in my spine to straighten (or at least prevent from getting worse) my lateral curvature. As you can image, for a young girl, this was pretty tough. I was bullied and made fun of but in my normal style, I did my best and kept those rose-colored glasses on. I knew this was what was the best for me. Believe it or not, I did what I was told all those years ago.
Flashforward 40+ years and I find myself yet in another brace-an Aspen Collar. This time, however, I'm having a much more difficult time with it all. Don't get me wrong, it's not the brace itself. It is the danger of the reason for the brace- my C1 vertebra fracture which is still very present. Though it has healed somewhat, there is still a measurable gap and as Steve has put it, a gap is still a gap, no matter the size.
My scoliosis brace did not stop me from doing anything I wanted to do or go anywhere I wanted to go. I lived my life as freely as any other teenager. I went to dances, school sporting events, amusement parks, and I even learned to drive while wearing it.

My newest acquisition would allow me the same youthful freedoms if we didn't live in fear of the what ifs and the could bes. We are just not prepared to risk "it all" by fully returning to the busy life we led just four months ago.

I'm a firm believer in the adage, What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I believed it all those decades ago and I have to believe it now!