Tampa doctor helps young patient with brittle bones get extra protection

TAMPA, Fla. - Like most kids, 5-year-old Mary Kate Waymack enjoys spending her summer in the pool.

"I like diving a lot," said Mary Kate.

But swimming isn't just a fun activity for Mary Kate. Her mother, Jessica Waymack, said it's also a safe one for her.

"She has a lot of freedoms in the pool. She doesn't have to worry about falling. We're not telling her slow down. Be careful. Watch out. You know she gets the pool to herself, and she gets to swim and just feel like a normal child," said Waymack.

Mary Kate has brittle bones disease, also known as osteogenesis imperfecta. It's a rare disorder that causes the bones to break easily.

"You're scared to touch your own baby. She would sneeze and cry, and I would be so worried that she broke something," said Waymack.

"She fractured when she was inside mom," said Mary Kate's doctor, Dr. Danielle Reynolds.

She is the director of the Pediatric Bone Program with Tampa General Hospital and USF Health.

"Children with brittle bone disease, their collagen is abnormal. These children break very, very easily compared to somebody else," said Dr. Reynolds.

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She has been working with Mary Kate on treatments to help prevent fractures. Mary Kate has had surgeries to put rods in her legs.

Every few months, she gets infusions that she calls bone juice.

"They help my bones like a protection," explained Mary Kate.

"There's a class of drugs called bisphosonates. They are often used in older people with osteoporosis. It's like plates of armor. Like if you had a suit of armor you were putting into every bone. Every time they get it. It's another layer, and it gets thicker and thicker. Starting early tremendously improves their quality of life," said Dr. Reynolds.

It's giving Mary Kate more freedom to play and grow both in and out of the pool.

"I know Mary Kate is very strong, she's very strong-willed, she's very independent, so I truly believe that she's going to live a full beautiful life," said Waymack.

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