The fashion studio at NSCAD University is a place where students’ designs come to life. For Laura Roy, those designs have a very specific purpose.
“I have Crohn’s disease, but I also recently have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and a little bit of arthritis,” she says. “I really wanted to try to combat that by making things for myself which will help.”
The 27-year-old student makes custom heat garments to east her chronic pain. She started with a vest with inside pockets to hold removable, microwavable heat packs.
She says the garments give her relief and a sense of normalcy.
“it’s almost like a more dignified thing than having to put a brace on,” she tells CTV News. “I’m not sure what else other people do but it kind of makes you feel more normal, I guess.”
Roy has branched out since her initial designs, making custom back wraps for herself and she’s working on a heat hat for a friend suffering with post-concussion syndrome.
“We’re thinking about putting kind of like an eye patch for over his eyes because he’s pretty light sensitive as well right now as well as having a lot of headaches.”
Roy is hoping to get a grant to help even more people living with medical conditions.
“People think that like you’re going around normally, but kind of in a silent struggle,” she says. “There’s a lot of people struggling out there who could use this help.”
