An Unbreakable Spirit

Sometimes a mother just knows. When Amanda was pregnant with her daughter, Autumn, a routine ultrasound showed that Autumn’s femurs were a little crooked and all of her limbs were shorter than average. After seeming four different specialists, down syndrome and dwarfism were ruled out. The doctors concluded that Autumn was just going to be a petite little girl. But Amanda knew, she knew that something was wrong.

When Autumn was born, she was perfect, but Amanda noticed that her eyes were a very distinct color. Autumn’s entire eye had a blueish grey tint, something Amanda thought was special. Little did she know that her daughter’s beautiful, perfect eyes would be key in learning more about her.

One night while Amanda was bathing Autumn, she saw two concerning bruise-like spots on her back. They concerned Autumn’s pediatrician too, and at eight-months-old Amanda and Autumn were referred to CHRISTUS Children’s genetics clinic. Moments after walking into the room, the doctor’s told Amanda what she knew in her gut–something was going on with her daughter. Shortly after, Autumn was diagnosed with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). OI is also known as brittle bone disease, and the symptoms can range from mild with only a few fractures to severe with many medical complications. OI can present itself with ocular complications such as blue sclera, like Autumn’s blue tinted eyes.

People with OI break or fracture their bones very easily. Those bruises on Autumn’s spine turned out to be breaks on her thoracic vertebrae.

Her first break after diagnosis was at ten-months-old. She was crawling on the living room floor and just started screaming. This time around, Amanda knew what to do. She took her to CHRISTUS Santa Rosa- New Braunfels and was quickly transferred to CHRISTUS Children’s, where they met with Dr. Elizabeth Magnabosco, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. They finally found the team that would continue to help heal little Autumn.

Today Autumn is eight years old, and Dr. Magnabosco has walked with her family through her various breaks, surgeries, and treatments. For Autumn and Amanda, Dr. Magnabosco is like family, and CHRISTUS Children’s is like home.

You too can help little ones, like Autumn, get the care they need. For more information please visit CHRISTUSChildrensFoundation.org.