So what is O.I?

Hang around and talk to me long enough and you're bound to hear me mention "O.I" or more confusingly "Osteogenesis Imperfecta".
I now hear a big, combined "What the??"
Well, sit down girls and boys because Aunty Aquarius will tell you a story....

I'd always know I had 'bad bones' all my life. My memories of childhood incorporate a lot of plaster, bandages and X-ray rooms. My mother was told to increase the amount of dairy I ate, assuming this was a calcium deficiency of sorts.

My pregnancy with my daughter was an absolute nightmare. Couldn't believe the pain my whole body was in. When I was delivering her, my pelvis broke in half, much to the horror of the midwives present!

When my daughter was 3 years old, her day carer called me at work to tell me that she had hurt her arm and for me to come and get her.
X-rays showed that she had broken her upper humerus. I was absolutely devastated that my baby had a broken bone but never suspected anything other than a childhood accident....
3 weeks later, she broke the other arm....

I made an urgent appointment with a pediatrician who sat me down after looking at her full body X-ray and told me the words that I'll never forget.... "Your daughter has a rare bone condition..."
Then the next bombshell...."I think you could have it too...."

Words were spinning around in my head.... "Osteogenesis Imperfecta.....Type 1.....Genetic testing.....Lifestyle modifications.....Orthopedic Surgeons....."

I don't remember driving home that day. I don't even remember getting to my mother's house. All I remember was her opening the door and me falling in a heap sobbing hysterically.

I spent the next few months researching everything I could find on this mysterious condition.

O.I is a genetic bone disorder which results in a poor quantity or quality of collagen in the bone and connective tissue. Collagen acts as a shock absorber for the bone and allows it to 'flex' under impact. When there is a defect in the collagen gene, the bone breaks instead.

There are 4 types of O.I. My daughter and I have type 1 which is the mildest - hence the reason why this wasn't picked up while I was a child. As I'm not totally familiar with types 2,3 and 4, you can read about it on the O.I website www.oif.org

Our life now is a lot happier. We have chosen not to suffer from O.I, We live with O.I. We both have infusions once every 3 months which are quite aggressive and make us feel like death for a week or so but the results are amazing. The bone pain is gone, the fractures have almost stopped and for the first time in 30 years, I know what life is like without pain.

I remember one member of the O.I group saying something in the first meeting I went to that I never understood until recently. She said she never knew she was in pain each and every day, until she wasn't in pain. I get that now.....