The Browns are working together to keep 14-year-old Ysabel from going under the knife.
On this season of Sister Wives, Kody and Christine’s daughter Ysabel has been open about her longtime problems with scoliosis, which is a curvature of the spinal column, and now, the family is tackling the problem head-on.
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A recent trip to the doctor, revealed some distressing news for the family, when Ysabel was told that her full-time back brace was not helping to straighten her spine.
In an attempt to prevent the the teen from undergoing invasive spinal surgery, Christine and Kody enroll her in an alternative medicine program, which is designed to help her gradually decrease her spinal curve through a series of different exercises. Her spine is currently at a 42-degree curvature, and surgery is recommended at 50, but can also be dangerous.
“On some days, I just want to get the surgery,” Ysabel confesses. “Because I just don’t want to deal with it anymore — I just want to get it over with.”
But she won’t give up. After meeting with Dr. Mark Morningstar, a chiropractic physician, Ysabel starts on her journey to try and straighten her spine with vigor.
“Right now, Ysabel’s body knows how to make a curvy spine,” Christine explains. “Bootcamp is all about retraining the body to stop curving the spine.”
“I’ve never seen Ysabel be particularly athletic, but I do know she is stubborn,” says Kody’s second wife Janelle. “I remember even as a little kid, she would give Christine hell because she wanted Kody around. She had a pretty strong will, a force of will. So I think she might be able to pull it off, even if she hasn’t really been that athletic.”
“We are a family of doing,” Kody adds. “Rather than just sit and wait for something to happen, do something to try and solve the problem. And that’s what we’re doing.”
Sister Wives airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on TLC.
Photo credit: TLC
