A little girl shares with us her story of courage in the face of living with a serious disability that has dramatically altered her life.
My name is Brianna Rae Thibodeaux, and I am six and a half years old. I will be seven in September, on September 11, 2003.
I am not like most kids. That is, I am severely handicapped. Have been this way as long as I can remember, and all I remember is being in pain or in casts or having to go to the doctors' or hospital because I had suffered another broken bone.
I am in a wheelchair, and I am a lot smaller than most kids. I am not much bigger than a two-year-old, and it is because I have something called brittle bone disease. I don't know the real name of it, but I do know the initials of my disease are O.I. (Maybe it means old injury???) My bones are really brittle, and they break very easily. I could do something like move wrong or bump myself somehow, and somehow, I always end up with a broken bone. As I write this, I have a pink cast on my leg; bumped it the other day when I ran it into the wall while walking on my crutches from my bed to the bathroom, and in my half-sleep, I didn't watch where I was going; and I bumped my leg. I bumped it hard enough to break it. Now I have a pink cast on my leg, and it still hurts a little. I have to wear this cast for at least six weeks or so, and it is a pain because it is summer, and the cast will only get itchy and drive me crazy! And I can't do much of anything with a cast on my leg (and I don't get to do much anyway because my bones break easily, and my parents are afraid I am going to do some serious damage). So I am stuck in my room, sitting in my wheelchair, writing on my computer!
I kinda' get annoyed at times because I have so much I can't do, and it is hard during the summer because I see my friends or hear the kids laughing or playing outside, and I can't go out, for fear I will get injured somehow. It is as though I am made of glass, and it gets old after a while.
Still, I try to keep myself busy, and I do a lot of reading, writing, playing with my toys or my dolls, or working on my computer; or I watch tv and work on strengthening my body (but then I have to be careful, or I will break yet another bone). I have had so many broken bones I can't count, and I have been in and out of the hospital as long as I can remember. It has gotten to the point to where I know all the doctors or nurses by name, and they know my name, too, and I have gotten used to their poking me or doing their tests on me.
Ahh..that is the life of a person with something like the disease I have. It isn't easy by a long shot, but it IS my life, and I just have to make the best of a very bad situation!
Hello, I am very sorry to hear that Brianna is having such a painful childhood. But, I wish and will pray that one day she can find something that makes her life turn around.
reading your stories teaches us about disabilities, how to live and rise above them, and teaches the non-disabled how to be compassionate to those that suffer with disabilities...well done! *applause*
A wonderful story, Karen...you have written it very well....Trish.
Reviewed by Tony Nerone
6/2/2003
Hi Karen, Thank You for this enlightning story.
We all think we have it tough, that is until you read this. She is a tough little girl, I know God will always be with her. Very well written!
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