ANICEE: Having OI just, to me it’s normal. I mean it’s not really normal.
LISA: Each of us have had probably about 200 or more broken bones in our life.
LISA: We are pretty different than other families but a lot the same.
ANICEE: Yeah!
LISA: But the difference is you can see we use wheelchairs to get around. Our house is different.
LISA: And so, we have different challenges in our life. But we are also just a lot of like, like your typical family as well.
ANICEE: It’s really, really easy to break bone. You could just, you can sneeze and you can break a bone.
ANICEE: I have broken over 200 bones. Hey, I can see the neighbour.
ANICEE: They have a white map. That’s cool. Oh! And they have a camera.
COMM: Between them, the Lamoreaux-Ferrerio family have broken over 600 bones due to a rare genetic
condition called Osteogenesis Imperfecta, which makes their bones as fragile as glass.
LISA: OI or Osteogenesis Imperfecta is a brittle bone disease, disorder. It’s genetic, a genetic mutation that
obviously is pretty painful, and that is why we are smaller than the typical person and, of course, and use
the wheelchairs. And you can see up on my, on the range here, up here I have two mirrors, so, that I can see into
my pots because if I have a pot of boiling water, I can’t, I am so low that I can’t see into it. So, those mirrors help
me do that, which is neat.
LISA: There are different types of OI. CHRIS: I think now they say there is six different types.
LISA: Or even more. I think there might be even more. CHRIS: Yeah! Well, I think we both have what’s called
Type-III, which means you are short statured and have kind of a barrel chest and very brittle bones.
LISA: And I think that Anicee has a, CHRIS & LISA: Similar type.
ANICEE: OI affects me on daily basis because I break a lot. So, and that’s not normal. And so, like, I can’t really do
a lot of things. I like to paint a lot. I can just express my feelings through my art. I just feel really happy and
peaceful. You do wish that you were a ‘walker’ and I guess I just wish that a lot too.
ANICEE: But I am happy about who I am.
COMM: Anicee was adopted by Lisa and Chris when she was 7-years-old from her birth country Belize.
LISA: When Chris and I got married we always kind of knew that we wanted to have, get a little, adopt a little girl
that had OI so that we can share some of our experience and knowledge with that, with that child and make it
maybe easier for them.
LISA: The process is very long, a lot of paperwork of course, and finally they said, ‘You can come down and
meet Anicee.’ Drove straight to see her and she was sitting outside her little dormitory in the children’s home
and she was sitting there in her stroller with her bag packed and it was sitting right next to her and it was just
an incredible moment because I had always wanted to be a mother and we had always wanted to be parents
and Chris and I knew it at that second that that was our daughter and it was totally meant to be that way.
LISA: And in our living room. These are three paintings that Anicee did. The elephant over there is beautiful;
one of my favourites and the giraffe and here is in Miami.
LISA: We waited two and a half years to adopt Anicee. It’s the greatest thing that, in our life of course, that we
have ever done. And we share a special bond because we are a family, because we love each other but also
because we all three have OI.
LISA: And we go through the same thing. We know exactly what it’s like. When something happens or the
fears that are associated with it and that is extremely important and comforting at the same time.
COMM: Married for 11 years, Chris and Lisa have known each other since they were babies.
LISA: So we have known each other since Chris was born because I am a little bit older than he is.
CHRIS: Okay. LISA: And he moved away and we kind of lost contact
for a while and then about 12 or 13 years ago, 12 years ago, we contacted each other again online, then started
talking and fell in love and eventually Chris moved out here to be with me in Colorado.
ANICEE: I attend a normal public high school just like any normal person and nobody sees me differently and
they, everybody loves to help me out and I think that’s amazing.
LISA: Our disability has opened up many doors for us. Anicee was an ambassador at a children’s hospital and
she painted a painting for them to auction off at their gala and that night we all went and we were sitting at the
gala and they started the bidding for her painting and it went for $50,000 that night. She raised $50,000 and then
the auctioneer said, “Is there anyone that will match that for her to do a second painting?” and someone raised the
hand. It makes me cry.
LISA: And that is the one that sold, one of the ones that sold at children’s hospital for $50,000. That’s just a print
of course.
LISA: As much as we are proud of those big movements, we are proud of the little things. To for instance, Anicee
went to prom last week and she was nervous about it and she was nervous because she was going to be the
only girl there that was different, that was using a chair. But she didn’t let it stop her and she had a great time
and those things... CHRIS: And you know, neither Lisa or I went to prom.
LISA: Right. CHRIS: No it was not.
LISA: Yeah it was, she just had so much more confidence and we were so proud of her.
LISA: Anicee is getting where she doesn’t break as much either.
ANICEE: I am pretty much just as strong as you with both hands.
LISA: Oh my gosh that’s so not true, but we are going to go with that for now.
ANICEE: We are going to do arm wrestling. LISA: Oh my gosh!
LISA: I don’t know if I can imagine life without it. I think it’s just been a part of me for so long. It’s hard to imagine
what it would be like. Maybe when I was younger, I used to dream or think about what it would be like to walk or
to have an average experience or typical experiences, but now I mean, I wouldn’t trade it because there are so
many wonderful things that have happened. Chris is in my life, Anicee is in my life.Then of course those two
things I would never trade.
ANICEE: Yeah, my parents they always say just be yourself, be your funny self and don’t let people get in
the way of who you are.
LISA: This is our life, this is what we have. We have to make the best of it and think about all the positive stuff
because there is a lot of positive stuff.