my son has this

en.wikipedia.org...

at least i think. i am taking him to the doctor today. i really hope he does not have to wear a brace around his torso. that would suck.
when i was a kid i had pectus excavatum. they had to break two of my ribs on each side and pit a steel plate back there to make it grow right.
you know, my son plays basketball and is a popular kid and i don't want him to start getting picked on if he has to wear a brace. it will break my heart.
this is not cool

I grew up with two kids who had similar conditions. One in grade school, the other as a teen. I don't remember the name of the conditions because it was during a time when medical-talk was foreign to me.

I remember the kid from my teens quite well though. He used to kid around about being bulletproof and stuff like that. I think the most important thing for him was that he was always in good spirits about it.

That is definitely something that you contribute in. Being diagnosed with any sort of medical condition is rough, especially it's something that makes you different... But honestly that can be anything. I remember getting picked on when I got braces...

Just be there to encourage him, reassure him and make sure that he sticks to the regimen that the doctor tells him as that will make his time wearing the device shorter.

By the way, the guy I knew who had to wear a brace wore it until he was 18 or so and is perfectly fine now, years later. No posture issues or anything like that.

Anyways, sending positive thoughts to you and your son.

Man I'm sorry to hear that. How bad does the brace look, is it possible to hide it under a sweat-shirt or something? Best of luck to you and your son. Even if he does have to wear the brace kids nowadays seem more accepting than back when I was in high school.

A friend of mine has that as well. He dealt with it fine. He never had any complications from it. He participated in sports all through school. Nobody gave him any crap about it either.

I am sorry though. Nobody ever wants anything to be wrong with their kids.

i think his mother and i are going to get a second opinion. the doctor said it is where the cartlidge is meeting the stirnum and that he does not need to wear a brace and he will eventually grow into it. he grew 6 inches over the course of one summer.
i think we will check with another doc just in case

Well, thats something I need to ask my doctor about at some point or other....reading the wiki page it sounds like something I may very well have....