Patient Stories

Brittle but yet broken, Charlie Ray Howell "Racing for those who can't"

Mt. Pleasant, TN - Determination breeds inspiration with local resident Charlie Ray Howell of Mt. Pleasant, TN, since being confined to a wheelchair since 2010, Howell brings awareness to spinal cord injuries and Osteogenisis Imperfecta (O.I.) by using racing as a tool to those who can’t.

Born with a rare condition, little girl had to grow new bones

Janet Amador and Salvador Martinez dressed 6-month-old Janelly Martinez-Amador for a professional photo shoot. The ventilator tubes and intravenous lines keeping their daughter alive in the neonatal intensive care unit were hidden by a tiny pink dress, ruffled socks and a matching pink-and-yellow pacifier in her mouth. With no cure or treatment available for this fragile infant's rare disease, the photo was possibly going to be her last, a keepsake for her parents when she passed. Janelly was born with practically no bones, and the delicate traces of bones she did have were disappearing.