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"Even when I was in my mother's womb, the doctors knew something
was wrong with me. The ultrasound picture they had made of me didn't show
any bones. The doctors didn't tell my parents about it, though, because
there wasn't anything they could have done about it. Those doctors feared
the worst. But as far as I'm concerned, they got the best. Yes, I'm short,
and, yes, I'm frail. And I've been through more broken bones and surgeries
than you could imagine. But I wouldn't trade the life I've had for anything
in the world not even good health. It's just been way too much fun just
the way it is."
Unbreakable
Brianne
Schwantes was born with 13 broken bones. She has the rare disease, Osteogenesis
Imperfecta (OI), made famous by the Bruce Willis movie, "Unbreakable."
As a child, hiccuping caused her to break ribs. She has endured over 50
operations in her lifetime and she is only 20. All kids with OI have bones
that break too easily. They don't grow as fast as other kids, and they're
sometimes in a great deal of pain. People tell kids with OI to be super
careful, to just stay in bed with lots of pillows around their bodies.
But Brianne says everybody's got to have a life, and so she has learned
to heal herself by helping others. "I see things that need to be done,"
and she does them. "My parents taught me that the most important
thing a person can do in their life is to help out others in need."
At 12, she raised $20,000 for South African orphans. At 13, she went to
Iowa and helped the victims of tremendous floods. This was a terrible
risk for one so frail, but she convinced her whole family to go. They
filled up a truck with things the flood victims needed and drove to Iowa.
When they got there, everything was covered in mud. Brianne helped wash
things off in the stores and put them back on shelves. If she were to
slip or if something were to fall on her, she could be very badly hurt.
But Brianne courageously worked on. She also helped fill sandbags. Two
years later, she went to Georgia to help clean up there after floods.
These projects were the beginning of Brianne's service to society. Today
she is a dynamic and polished motivational speaker to schools and community
organizations all across the country. She writes a newsletter for other
kids with OI to help them feel less lonely, and she has become an expert
on her disease. Four times a year, she goes to a special hospital in Washington,
D.C. where she courageously volunteers to try out new treatments. She
calls herself a "guinea pig" and says, "If they're going
to try something new, they try it on me first."
Brianne's body may be easily broken, but her spirit is not. She's been
on "Oprah," has received many humanitarian awards and has met
the President of the United States. Truly, Brianne Schwantes exemplifies
the good one person can do, in spite of hardship.
Learn more about OI
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