This Teen Turned Her Medical Brace Into Fantastical Costume Armor

One teen transformed her medical back brace into an awesome piece of fantasy armor.

Maddie Cable, 17, from Charlotte, North Carolina, was in a car accident with her mother, Linda, in late November, BuzzFeed reported. Their car hydroplaned and in the crash Maddie fractured to her T12 vertebra. Doctors stabilized it with rods and pins and Maddie was told to wear the brace for at least six weeks.

  Cable and her friend Sarah Chacko, 19, are both big fans of the sci-fi/retro style called Steampunk. Chacko had steampunked other things in the past, so she and Cable got together and spent about five hours transforming the medical back brace into what looks like an impressive metal armor corset, The Huffington Post reported. Using metallic spray paint, metal framing trim, gear-shaped stencils and acrylic paint, they created something pretty cool.   “At first, I felt very self-conscious about the brace,” Cable told BuzzFeed. “But then Sarah brought up the idea of steampunking it, which I loved… I enjoy wearing it now. It makes me feel more confident.”   “People are initiating conversation instead of just staring,” Cable's mom, Linda, told HuffPost. “She feels like they see her, and not just her injury.” Cable and Chacko have a friend who is having knee surgery soon, so the teens say there may be another Steampunk project on the horizon, BuzzFeed reporter. h/t EpBot