Ask Sam letter

Hi there,

It can be hard when we feel there is something that makes us feel different from other people. Finding ways for you to feel comfortable with yourself can really make a difference.

There are many things that make us different. Some people wear glasses. Others wear hearing aids. Some people use wheelchairs and others have leg braces. There are so many things that make us who we are. Everyone stands out in one way or another. Often it can be our own confidence in ourselves that affects how people act around us.

Feeling good about yourself in your leg supports is important because you deserve to be happy. They may take some getting used to but they are not what make you the person you are. You are more than the way you look on the outside and you are still the same person as you were before you were diagnosed with Osgood-Schlatter's Disease.

One way you may be able take away some of the self-consciousness you’re feeling could be to decorate the leg supports and make them your own. You could use the colours of your favourite football team or pictures from your favourite TV show, or whatever you feel will make you feel that you own the leg braces and not that they own you.

I can’t promise that nobody will make a comment or bring attention to the braces when you don’t want them to, but remember that anyone who bullies you for this is saying more about themselves than they are about you. You get to decide who you are, not a person who is bullying you and not your illness.

If you would like to talk this through in more detail you can talk to a counsellor or discuss it on the message boards – maybe there are other people using the boards who also have OSD.

Take care,
Sam