Chelsea and Curtis Lush were thrilled to learn they were pregnant with their first child, a beautiful baby girl named Zoe. The couple from Huntington, California, went in for their five-month ultrasound hoping everything looked normal.
But when the physician gently pressed the wand on Chelsea’s belly, Zoe’s soft skull molded under the pressure. The concerned doctor looked up at Chelsea and said, “Mrs. Lush, there’s something very wrong with your child.”
Zoe’s bones were breaking in the womb.
Chelsea and Curtis were devastated to learn that their daughter had type III osteogenesis imperfecta, a rare form of dwarfism also known as brittle bone disorder. Zoe’s bones are so fragile that they can “break in the wind.” Because of how delicate they are, doctors have likened them to glass. “Many children born with type III fracture their ribs simply from taking a deep breath,” Zoe’s GoFundMe page states. “Some infants will pass away from respiratory failure, especially early in life. If a child with type III does survive those first formidable months, they will never grow much past 3-feet tall, and will likely spend most of their lives in a wheelchair.”
Zoe broke several bones in the womb and shattered her collarbone during birth. As she grew older, her bones broke so frequently that Chelsea had to splint her body herself, since doctors were unfamiliar with the condition. Oftentimes, doctors handle OI children like regular kids, unintentionally causing even more breaks.
Today, Zoe is 6 years old. Wait until you see the progress she has made, despite all the odds stacked against her.
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