Dear KitKat,
I have Osteogenesis Imperfecta (O.I). I did not inherit it, the gene mutation occurred spontaneously. As I understand it about half the cases of O.I. occur in such a way while the other half are passed on.
The main thing you need to know is that your boyfriend can pass on the disease. The probability varies depending upon the type of O.I. he has. For instance, with my type there is a 50% chance that each of my children will have O.I. The type I have is the type I pass on, and indeed my one child does have O.I. The other thing to know is that within each type there is a wide range of severity, and although I can only pass on my type, the severity of the symptoms my son has and will have is not necessarily the same as mine. In fact, it appears he has had more fractures at his age than I did at mine. Also, our type affects our teeth (Dentnogenesis Imperfecta) and his teeth are much worse off than mine.
Having said all that, my son and I have had, and will continue to have, productive, and in some way, richer lives because of O.I. It doesn't have to defeat us. I've been lucky enough to have been in a proffessional rock band that sold close to 4 million albums, and I continue to play drums. It's just not so easy moving them.
Anyway, your boyfriend may not know what type of O.I. he has and if not you can find a doctor that can tell him. You can also check out OI.org for more information. And you're both more than welcome to reply to this directly to me if you'd like to know more.
I wish you luck, health, and wisdom at this time.
Sincerely,
Randy Guss
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