Coldplay help teen’s scoliosis campaign dream come true

A teenager’s dream came true after her favourite singer serenaded her in front of thousands of people and helped raise awareness of a medical condition.

Isla, 14, from Plymouth, was diagnosed with scoliosis, or curvature of the spine, about 18 months ago and has had to wear a brace for 20 hours a day since.

A year after she collected the brace she fulfilled her ambition to share a stage with Coldplay at Wembley Stadium and she was wearing the brace on top of her clothes to make it visible.

In front of 83,000 people, the band’s Devonian lead singer Chris Martin asked Isla to sit with him for two songs, a video of which she shared online as part of her campaign to educate others about scoliosis.

With tickets to the gig booked a year ahead of the day she collected her brace, Isla said she had vowed “I’m going to get on that stage and raise awareness of scoliosis”.

Isla said the Coldplay video she shared has had more than 200,000 views and has drawn many comments from other young people with curvature of the spine, seeking support and asking questions.

“I feel like I helped quite a lot of people that day,” the teenager said.

Isla said she wore the brace every day to try to prevent the need for surgery, despite it being challenging and painful to wear.

“I’ve come through a lot of challenges with it [scoliosis] and I’ve tried to spread awareness,” she said.

Isla said being serenaded by Chris Martin had been “unbelievable, I can’t believe it happened”.

The event boosted her confidence and made her realise she did not mind wearing the brace outside of her clothing, Isla added.

Her mother Leanne said: “I don’t think he [Chris Martin] will realise what he did that day, it’s incredible.”