Determined to win against odds
Catherine makes the best out of Brittle bone disease
For Cathrine Mantswe, the worst thing about living with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) is knowing that she can never have children of her own.
Osteogenesis Imperfecta is a genetic bone disorder characterised by fragile bones that break easily but it is also characterised by fragile connective tissue, skin and blood vessels, making all the body’s organs more vulnerable, according to the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation. It is also known as brittle bone disease. The term literally means “bone that is imperfectly made from the beginning of life”. A person born with the disorder is affected throughout his or her lifetime. OI is caused by a mutation on a gene that affects the body’s production of the collagen found in bones and other tissues.
Mantswe had her first fracture when she was three years old. And since then, she has broken her bones 14 times and has had 15 operations on her legs. “I’m always riddled with pain and any slip or fall, I wind up breaking something,” said Mantswe. “My condition is always weighing in the back of my mind because I’m afraid of breaking something. It doesn’t take much. I shattered my tibia and fibula (the two long bones in the lower leg) from just walking or even standing for more than five minutes”. At school and elsewhere, she uses a wheelchair to get around.
In an interview with The Midweek Sun recently, Mantswe shared; “I was 14 years old when the doctors told me I could never have kids of my own because my body is not strong enough to carry a pregnancy. And that was the biggest blow to me. As a young girl you dream about that, having a family, what your husband and children will look like. But that will never be my reality”.
The 17 year-old says she can handle the pain,
the many fractures and operations that she has had to endure over the years, but it’s the feeling of being worthless like she can never be a real woman that hurts her the most. “To society, you are a full woman if you are able to take care of the household and bare children. I can’t do any of that. My body has let me down. I cannot walk, clean, cook even make my own bed on my own. I can’t even bring life into the world, so forget about having a husband or a family of my own. I find myself thinking why me, what did I do?” “I keep a smile on my face but I’m not okay, I have never been okay and I don’t know if I will ever be,” she sighed. Adding, “Sometime I feel like one can understand my frustration. Everything seems lifeless when you cannot do anything on your own. I want freedom like other girls my age. I’m generally an optimist, I just get frustrated at times,” she said. “Sometimes I want to do something and I can’t because of mobility challenges. I get stressed out by that. But after a good night’s sleep, I get over it. “You have to make the best of it,” she said. One of some upsides of living with OI, according to Mantswe, is that the condition has not only allowed her the space to really introspect about what she wants out of life, she has also gotten to discover her strengths and things she really cherishes. The form three student at Sedibelo Junior Secondary school is determined to do well in school. She loves helping other students struggling with academics, public speaking, writing, playing chess and debating.
In fact in 2019, she was awarded best debater of the year at the National Broadcasting Summit. “I’m very focused and really have no time for games. I’m aware of how fragile life is and I feel I have to use every moment I have here to the fullest”.