Teen Has Rare Genetic Disorder That Turns Muscles and Tendons into Bones

A 17-year old girl from West London in Britain is suffering from a rare genetic disorder that is turning her muscles and tendons into bones. Seanie Nammock was diagnosed with a condition known as fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) which affects just 45 people in Britain. Also known as Stone Man Syndrome, the condition causes the body tissue to become ossified, or rigid, when damaged. Injuries often cause joints to be frozen in place and any surgical attempt to remove the extra bone growth causes the body to repair the affected area with more bone rather than tissue.

In Seanie’s case, her arms are already locked in a bent position near her waist while extra bone growth over her shoulders means that she cannot reach above her waist. While even a slight bump may trigger irreversible bone growth, Seanie cannot prevent herself from getting into accidents as her locked arms affects her balance.

However the 17-year old has not let the condition drag her down and has received some great support from her friends. “My friends are brilliant, they do my hair for me sometimes and help me get my coat on and anything I can't do really. I just crack on with things to be honest. There is no other option. It's taken me the last five years to get to the point where I'm able to push it to the back of my mind and just carry on”, she said.

Source-Medindia