BREANNA Reid has a scar.
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It runs down her spine, from her neck to the middle of her back.
It doesn’t hurt her anymore, but it’s a painful sight.
And it glows a deep purple because the scar is fresh. It’s a reminder, she says.
Not of a great trauma, and not of an unfortunate accident. But of her battle through adversity.
You see, Breanna suffers from a form of scoliosis, one that only affects two per cent of all Australians in which the spine bends into the shape of an S.
It’s a crippling and degenerative condition, but here’s the remarkable part…
Breanna is also one of the hottest young canoe sprint talents in the state.
Since she began in 2009, she has ranked in the top 10 junior K1 paddlers over 14km and she is ranked third nationally with her K4 team mates over 1000m.
It’s an amazing feat considering this Trinity Catholic College student is only 16-years-old.
But her up and coming sporting career was put on hold when two months ago she made the decision to under go major surgery.
She decided to fuse her spine for not only a better condition of life, but to help her in her pursuit of the sport she loves.
“The scar reminds me that I can overcome this and I can conquer anything,” she told the Post.
“And it makes me want to get back onto the water even more. Hopefully at the beginning of next year.”
The operation fused the spine from the T3 to T11 vertebra.
Her recovery was confined to limited movement and only now is she getting back to normality, which begins with swimming.
“She’s a strong girl with a lot of perseverance to get through it,” close friend and physiotherapist Fi Humphries said.
“When she does get back onto the water, she’ll have to learn how to do it all over again because it’s going to be different. She’s grown up and learned how to do the motion in a unique way.”
Fi has been working weekly with Breanna for over five years working on her mechanics and working to best combat the arching spine.
Speed kayaking is all about balance and by working on her back; Breanna is able to counter the curvature in her spine.
“Keeping a big strong core, it sounds stupid, but it put a support system around her spine, and if she wasn’t doing that she would have been pretty degenerative,” said her mum Cherie.
“So a lot of people think kayaking is like rowing, it’s all arm driven, it’s not, it’s trunk, it’s all core and leg drive. It’s a total body workout and balance is key. Balance equals speed.”
Cherie has been by her daughter’s side throughout.
She’s seen her daughter go from one of the state’s fastest paddlers to a wheelchair bound patient. But she couldn’t be prouder.
“Anymore than 15 minutes in the boat and she’d become numb from the waist down and that’s what makes her remarkable, just to endure it because she wants it,” Cherie said.
Breanna says her desire to get back onto the water burns brightly.
She aims to get selected in the Olympic Hope team next year, which will give her a platform to pursuit her Olympic dreams.