Woman Grows Second Skeleton as She Struggles With Rare 'Mannequin Disease'

A woman in the US is slowly growing a second skeleton in a rare and debilitating bone disease that affects only one in two million people worldwide.

Jasmin Floyd, 23, was diagnosed with Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP) - also known as the mannequin disease - when she was five years old. She loves travelling, attends concerts, has a passion for alternative music and loves cuddles.

However she's quickly becoming a prisoner in her own body. Jasmin, from the US state of Connecticut, is victim of one of the rarest diseases in the world, with less than 800 confirmed cases across the globe. She is trapped inside of her own body and has created a fundraising page in an effort to try to take back control of her life and maintain her independence.

The diseases is slowly turning Ms Floyd's muscles, tendons, ligaments and other connective tissues into a second skeleton. Unfortunately there's nothing Jasmin can do to treat her FOP, because removing the excess bones would trigger more bones to grow around the wound.

"It causes my muscles and connective tissues to turn to bone, gradually creating a 'second' immobilising skeleton," Ms Floyd wrote on her blog. Ms Floyd said the condition is painful, flares up spontaneously and that there are only about 800 cases of it worldwide.

Source: Medindia