CALGARY -- When debilitating back pain was robbing a teen performer of her life's passion, her family found an option not offered in Canada and now the young woman is back on the stage.

Sophie Brown was 14 when she began experiencing back and hip pain. She was sent to specialists and put on medications but for years had no clear answers and her worsening symptoms prevented her from attending school and dance classes.

"I was limping everywhere that I went," said the now 19-year-old. "All of the time I would be feeling some kind of pain."

Weeks before she was set to attend Toronto's Randolph College for the Performing Arts, a surgeon recommended a spinal fusion, a procedure which would greatly restrict her mobility for the rest of her life.

Sophie's family instead discovered the American company Balanced Back, which performs joint replacement back surgeries in the Cayman Islands. It differs from surgeries offered in Canada because it replaces the disc and facet joints with a new device.

The Brown’s raised more than $75,000 so Sophie could have the procedure. 

"The surgery has been like a miracle for her," said her father, Steve Brown, adding she no longer requires physiotherapy or medication.

Four hours after undergoing the surgery, Sophie was walking.

Seven months later, she is now performing the lead the role in Frozen Princess Bride at Jubilations Dinner Theatre and has signed a contract to for future roles. Sophie credits the surgery for giving her life back.

"I wouldn’t be able to dance. I wouldn’t be on stage right now," she said.

"I've never felt more like myself."

Frozen Princess Bride runs until March 21.