Moving On

OI & BDA

Warning: Info Dump

            "Alright, so we figured you guys would probably have some questions. So, ask away," Noah said. The kids had been put to bed so now the adults were sitting around and Kurt and Noah were prepared to answer any questions their friends and family had for them.

            "Well, I think something all of us were wondering is what it is exactly that they each have?" Mercedes said.

            Noah looked at Kurt and the paler boy nodded.

            "Shane has Osteogenesis Imperfecta, also called OI or Brittle Bone Disease," Kurt explained, "This essentially means that his bones are like glass and that something as simple as a cough or a sneeze can actually cause him to break something."

            "There are different types of OI," Noah went on, "Shane has what they would typically classify as Type Four, though according to his doctor he presented early on which is more typical for Types Two and Three."

            "Breaks and fractures aren't the only things that comes with having OI," Kurt said, "He won't get much taller than he is now, probably somewhere around three feet. As he gets older his spine will start to curve and he may even lose his hearing."

            "And his eyes?" Sam piped up, "I noticed they weren't a regular colour..."

            "It's a common symptom in people with OI for the whites of their eyes to actually be a bluish-grey colour, normally it depends on the type, but not always."

            "And there's no cure for this?" Rachel asked.

            "No cure," Kurt shook his head, "But there are treatments. He goes in every other month to get some tests done and they'll give him some medication that helps make his bones stronger so they don't break any time he puts pressure on them."

            "That sounds.... intense," Finn said, wide eyed.

            "Maybe," Kurt nodded, "But it's necessary. There'll be more treatment options open to him in a few years and even though none of these things are fun, they make it easier for him to live as normal a life as possible every day."

            Finn nodded in understanding and the whole group just sort of sat there for a moment, processing what they had just been told.

            "What about Maisie?" Carole finally asked.

            "Maisie has what is called Blackfan Diamon Anemia," Noah replied.

            "Anemia is pretty common and it causes Maisie to have low red blood cell counts," Kurt told them, "But this type of anemia also causes things like a cleft palate and it also slows how much she'll grow."

            "It's also pretty common for patients with BDA to develop heart defects," Noah said, "Which in Maisie's case is what happened."

            "Because everything doesn't suck enough already?" Santana said.

            "Unfortunately Shane and Maisie drew the short straw health wise," Kurt said, "The heart defeat in Maisie's case is called Tetralogy of Fallot which causes her to have issues gaining weight and, like BDA, it slows her growth. The doctor also told us that it can cause her to have trouble eating and lead to issues with her spine and kidneys, can sometimes cause limb defeats like clubbed fingers and toes which he said is common. It also causes her to have a heart murmur, but it's only mild and not something the doctor is worried about."

            "It makes her get sick pretty easy though, right?" Mike asked, "This heart thing? I'm just guess cause she wears that mask."

            "She gets respiratory infects pretty easily," Noah nodded, "That, combined with her allergies can obvious cause a problem."

            "When she gets sick she gets really sick," Kurt said, "So obviously the more people who are around her, the more germs are in the air."

            "Can they cure it?" Tina asked.

            "Cure it? No. Treat it? Yes," Kurt replied. "Right now she's a on a steroid treatment, one pill in the morning and one at night. She's also on meds that help boost her immune system and that, along with the mask, seem to be working pretty well so far."

            "We're actually taking her to see her doctor next week and he's going to go over everything for future treatments then.

            "What about side affects?" Carole asked, "Giving a four year old steroid doesn't seem like a good idea."

            "It can cause side affects," Kurt said, "So far we haven't see any, but if her dose has to be changed then we might see some things. If that happens then we change up the treatment methods."

            The two men watched he groups faces as they all took in this information.

            "Your guys lives just went from 0-100 in a second," Santana said and Kurt and Noah laughed.

            "Maybe," they nodded, "But I think it's safe to say we're both okay with that."

Normally I'm not a big fan of info dumps and try to avoid them in my stories. However, I had originally written a couple chapters where info about OI and BDA came out gradually, but I really didn't like that.

 

It felt like those were the only things being talked about and focused on instead of the characters which I really didn't want. I don't want the kids being sick to be the focal point of everything, it will obviously play a part, but I don't want it to be the only thing about them.

 

It also felt like everything I was saying was made up. I know that probably sounds strange as obviously this whole story is made up, but all the stuff about OI and BDA I got off an obnoxious amount of medical websites.

 

When I tried to just put the info in throughout the chapters it felt like what I was saying was fake. Like, in one chapter Kurt would mention something about OI and then several chapters later when something happened it's like, "Oh yeah, and also this." And it just really didn't feel right, you know?

 

So I decided, as much as I hate info dumps, here it is. Here's what OI is, here's what BDA is, here's how it can/might affect the kids.

 

I'm not a doctor (as you can tell), but I did a lot of research on OI and BDA on various medical websites and only used info that I found on those.

 

I hope this chapter wasn't too boring and that you guys liked it! New chapter next week!