A 6-year-old girl’s bones are so delicate that sneezing could leave her with a broken rib and a simple fall could kill her.
Zoe Lush, from Huntington Beach, California, suffers from a rare gene mutation called Osteogenesis Imperfecta which causes her to have extremely brittle bones.
“Zoe is very fragile, she literally breaks in the wind. There have been some close calls but she astonishes us every single day,” Zoe’s mother Chelsea Lush told Barcroft.
Zoe – who broke up to 100 bones before her first birthday – began falling apart when she was still in her mother’s womb.
“We were doing 4-D ultrasound and they were able to see her multiple fractures that were fresh and healing already. She had broken ribs, the arms and legs were about six weeks behind what they should have been and they told us that she had very severe condition and that she possibly wouldn’t make it until her birth date,” the mother said, adding that doctors suggested she terminate the pregnancy.
Chelsea and her husband Curtis Lush went against doctors’ advice – a decision she does not regret – and Zoe was born by cesarean in October of 2010.
Zoe was forced to stay in the hospital for one week and was given a treatment called “pamidronate” which strengthens the bones.
Despite having treatment, her parents had to handle her so lightly upon taking her home that simple tasks like changing her diaper became a three person job.
“One person to lift her pelvis, one person to slide the diaper in an out and then another person to hold her arms because babies have startle reflex,” Curtis said.
“I was on arms duty and she startled in to my hand. Her radius just snapped – it sounded like a broken chicken bone. We had to learn a lot, very quickly,” he added.
Now Zoe undergoes physical therapy to strengthen her muscles and provide support for her bones. Fractures still happen, but far less than they used to. She also had metal rods inserted into her limbs and a cervical spinal fusion.
She currently wears a neck brace which her parents hope will be removed later this month.
Despite her countless injuries, Zoe is a social butterfly who loves painting, baking, and playing like other children her age. One of her favorite hobbies is spending time with her three-year-old brother Felix.
“She is able to do every other thing that other kids are, other than run on their feet but she can race them just as fast in her wheelchair,” Chelsea said.
Zoe will struggle with her condition for her whole entire life, but her mother says she wouldn’t change one thing about her.
