DURHAM, NC (WTVD) — It’s October Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and ABC11 highlights a North Carolina woman’s innovation in recovery clothing for post-surgery patients.

Leah Wyrick founded Three-wire recovery wear as a freshman at Wake Forest University. She was inspired to create a new surgical bra with special features such as pocket supports and compression bands after seeing what her mother, Nancy, went through after a mastectomy and three subsequent surgeries due to complications.

“We quickly realized that with a better postoperative bra, some of them complications it could have been prevented and I realized that this doesn’t just happen to my mother. It happens to millions of other women,” Wyrick said.

Wyrick built The Resilience Bra during his four years at Wake Forest University through Center for Entrepreneurship.

“I’ve been very fortunate to be surrounded by such an incredible medical community in Winston-Salem to really leverage the hospitals and some amazing surgeons in the area to build a product that’s truly based on patient feedback,” added Wyrick .

“The bra is meant to be put on the patient on the operating table to be worn at home especially during the post-operative period from 0 to 8 weeks. However, we know that there are plenty of wonderful mastectomy boutiques that also work. closely related to hospital systems, where patients can go to adjust before their operations, whether it is a mastectomy, lumpectomy or reconstruction. They can go to these boutiques and get fitted beforehand, and insurance will usually cover at least two bras every six months. “

Since graduating in 2022, Wyrick now runs Three Strands Recovery Wear full-time with her mother. The Resilience Bra is carried in ten states at local mastectomy boutiques, including Duke Cancer Center in Durham, NC

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