Girl Turning Into A Skeleton : A Rare Disease Turns Body Into Bone

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Dec 28, 2016 09:26 AM EST

Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) is one of the rarest disease and its found in just one out of every two million people. It's also an extremely painful and difficult disorder to deal with.

As reported in CNN Jasmin Floyd, 23, happens to be one of the few unfortunate ones to face the wrath of one of the most disabling genetic conditions known to medicine. At this young age she can not move her neck or lift her arms over the shoulder level. A new bone growth on her back make her incapable of bending down.

Out of the 800 confirmed cases around the world, Floyd is amongst the 285 cases recorded in the United States. Recently her jaws are locked-up in a position and she can barely open her mouth more than a centimetre. Eating is a basic requirement for humans but for this girl its like a punishment as the choice of food she can eat through that small gap is very limited.

Floyd may wake one fine morning and realise she can not move at all. The growth of an additional bone anywhere in the body causes excruciating pain. On a standard pain scale its over "10". Despite powerful painkillers Floyd's pain remains unbearable most of the time.

Almost sixty years ago there was another girl who suffered the same fate, The Atlanta reported. In 1958 Jeannie Peeper was born with the disorder but it took 4 years for the diagnosis. Peeper's mother took her to various doctor after noticing that she could not open her mouth as much as her other siblings or babies of that age in general.

Peeper was born with unusual big toes. They were short and crooked. Just two months later a swelling developed on the back of her head but in the next few days it disappeared. It was not until she turned 4 that Mayo Clinic confirmed FOP in the diagnosis.

In FOP the body develops a second skeleton. New bones grow and stretch through the whole body forming a second skeleton which joins the original skeleton at some places. With each passing day the body is locked and its increasing difficult to move and breathe. Ultimately the patient dies captivated in their own bodies.

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