Name : Lizzie Wesley
E-mail : stick_insect12@hotmail.com
Child: 12 years old
Location: Hereford, England.
Areas of body affected: Left arm from shoulder to fingers. Index finger and middle finger bent towards each other.
Personal History:
First diagnosed in 1996 when I was 7, but I can remember being much younger when I couldn't hold a cup properly. Mum took me to see my family doctor who thought I had a problem with the tendons in my fingers and he sent me to the orthopaedic specialist. After a thorough examination he admitted that he was unsure of what was wrong with me, so discussed it with more orthopaedic doctors at a hospital in Oswestry. This was a specialist orthopaedic hospital. They diagnosed me with Melorheostosis and although it is painful at times, particularly in cold, damp weather, (of which we get a lot in England!) I have managed to carry on at school. I had to give up gymnastics as I couldn't grip the bars properly and I find it difficult to pull up the brakes on my bike. Mum has recently bought me a paraffin wax hand bath so that I can soak my hand when it is painful and I have found that this helps. Mum helped me to write this!