Write-A-Letter Saturday (Post 3/Part 1)

Dear S,

I hope you are doing well. I, on the other hand, am about to make a peaceful yet onerous decision today, by getting surgery, to heal my bones completely. I have Osteomalacia, my bones get weak and my body faces snags when forming my bones.

I was 4 when I was diagnosed with this disease. I still remember that day, I was swinging on a merry-go-round when I suddenly fell off and the extreme pain I felt is still fresh in my memory. That wasn't the first time when I had fallen off of a swing but the pain that I felt cannot be put into words. That day I got my hand fractured, Children get fractures easily so nobody paid any heed to it. I continued enjoying more days at the park, but I also continued falling off swings and getting more and more bone fractures. One hazy morning, I complained about the pain in my lower backs and ribs. My eyes were rheumy, and I was shivering, my mother handed me a crocin to relieve that pain. My sister noticed me walking in a peculiar manner. At this point everyone had realized that something was wrong. My parents took me to a doctor. I remember telling the doctor that I was having regular fractures, my hip bones, ribs, legs and back ached incessantly at times.

The doctor sensed something amiss and prescribed a blood test and an X RAY. Everyone was worried about the results of the tests and hoped for a positive report.

To everyone's shock, I was diagnosed with Osteomalacia. Everyone was worried and rather 'oblivious' of the situation, but they didn't acquaint me with that news for my good. The doctor prescribed several vitamin D and calcium supplements. I got used to the regular doctor checkups, 3 glasses of milk as a quotidian and supplements. My condition has been better since then but not perfect. At the mere age of 4, I had to go through so much, and I am proud of myself for handling the situation so ambrosially. Today, when I am a teenager and understand my condition better, I have opted for surgery to get my bones stronger and reshaped. People taunt me that this isn't such a big thing to go through, and I remind myself yet again, "Every struggle is a struggle, every struggle matters, every struggle imparts something."

Warm Regards

B

(By Aanya Narula, Volunteer, Editorial Dept. Advanced Healthcare Foundation)