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From the day of Jasmin Floyd’s birth, her parents and doctors noticed that she had an unusual lump on her big toe. The doctors didn’t think this growth was anything to be concerned about, so they overlooked it – until more, similar bumps began to grow all over Jasmin’s body.
Trips back to the doctor offered no further insight.
In fall 1998, when Jasmin was on her way to kindergarten, she told her mom that she had a sore neck. Mother RoJeanne Doege thought her daughter might have just slept funny, but the complaints continued. Jasmin’s neck had actually stiffened up.
It took another half year for doctors to finally diagnosed Jasmin with fibrodysplasia ossificans progressive (FOP), a condition where muscle and connective tissues, like tendons and ligaments, gradually ossify and turn into bones. These bones, though extraneous to the body, are fully-formed, legitimate bones.
Once Jasmin discovered that she had this condition, her childhood was anything but normal. Her teachers requested that she wear a helmet at school and no one was allowed to hug her, for fear that causing her body physical “trauma” would only trigger greater bone growth.
Now 23, Jasmin has gotten a better understanding of how and when her body is triggered to develop more bone, but still, "It's intimidating. ... Something I can't control is trying to take over my body," she admitted.
Jasmin struggles to remain positive in the face of her declining health and mobility, but she keeps her spirits up by traveling as much as she can to attend concerts all over the country. She fights “chronic pain, scoliosis, bony lesions on my back, and a restricted lung capacity due to the extra bone growth surrounding my rib cage” every day, but refuses to let it slow her down.
Recently, Jasmin’s jaw locked. She can now only open her mouth about one centimeter. But even in response to this new challenge of figuring out how she would eat, Jasmin said, "My sudden jaw flare-up was a reminder that my abilities and independence, including traveling by myself, could be taken away from me at any time because of FOP.
“I'm determined to continue making crazy plans, taking risks, and having the types of experiences I had this year for as long as I'm able.”
You can follow her life updates on her personal blog, One Spirit, Two Skeletons.
