Dramatic flair
Brittany Sowacke
The halls of Lincoln Trail Elementary School in Elizabethtown ring with one name – Erin. Teachers, bus drivers, custodians and schoolmates of all ages greet her with happy shouts and high-fives. Walks to lunch become a parade of hellos.
This has always been Erin Rasmussen’s school experience. The fact that she was diagnosed with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, or brittle bone disease, has never been a hindrance. The disorder is characterized by extremely fragile bones, and Erin weighs a mere 25 pounds and is just 30 inches tall. She uses a motorized wheelchair.
Erin broke both of her legs in utero, and her left femur was broken when she was born. She was diagnosed with Type III Osteogenesis Imperfecta and has broken 12 bones since she was born.
“We weren’t sure of anything,” her father, Philip Rasmussen, 35, said. “It was very scary.”
Though only 7, Erin refuses to let her diagnosis define her abilities. She participates in school plays, including the upcoming production of “The Nutcracker.” She dances in gym class, including a recent lesson on the Virgina reel. Erin’s aide, Shelia Fonda, 45, wheels her to the music.
“Her attitude is almost overwhelming to you as a person. … Every day is a challenge in her life, but she never sees it that way,” said Lisa Jaggers, 43, Erin’s reading teacher. Erin uses a walker at home and during physical therapy at school, a rare accomplishment for someone with Type III.
“She should be in movies, she’s so dramatic,” Kara Reeder, 33, Phil’s girlfriend, said as Erin pretended to slide off the family’s overstuffed couch. Despite her flair for theatrics, Erin has never been upset about her condition.
“She does sometimes ask questions (about the disorder) but she never feels sorry for herself. … I’ve always encouraged her to just try things,” Phil said. ”I show her once and she does it.”
Erin Rassmussen, 7 and Gracie DeWitt, 6, read aloud at Lincoln Trail Elementary School in Elizabethtown.
Maycie Barzy, foreground, 7, and Erin Rasmussen, 7, both of Elizabethtown, stretch in gym class at Lincoln Trail Elementary School. Despite being born with brittle bone disease, Erin participates in all class activities and refuses to let her diagnosis define her abilities.
"You don't have to kiss no boys! They won't be that close," Kailey Probus, 7, left, said to Erin Rasmussen, 7, both of Elizabethtown, while practicing a dance called the Virginia Reel during gym class. Erin was born with brittle bone disease and uses a wheelchair as her primary mode of transportation. She doesn't let her condition inhibit her activities.
"Kids in her class actually fight over who gets to bring her chair to class," Phil Rasmussen, 35, said of his daughter, Erin, 7. Diagnosed with brittle bone disease at birth, Erin is only 30 inches tall and unable to sit in the regular school chairs at Lincoln Trail Elementary School in Elizabethtown.
"Swing, swing, I want to swing today," Erin Rasmussen, 7, chants after lunch is over at Lincoln Trail Elementary School in Elizabethtown. "She just loves to twist in her swing," her aide, Shelia Fonda, 45, said.
Ella Dodd, left, and Halle Stroop, right, help Erin Rasmussen, all 7, during a math exercise at Lincoln Trail Elementary School in Elizabethtown. "She's brought such joy to our class," said Kim Fox, 40, Erin's teacher. "They just all gather around (her). They want to include her."
Erin Rasmussen, 7, parts a crowded hallway as she goes to lunch at Lincoln Trail Elementary School. The second grader is often late to classes because so many people greet her in the hallways.
Erin Rasmussen, 7, uses a car seat on her bus rides to and from Lincoln Trail Elementary School in Elizabethtown. She is just 30 inches tall and uses a motorized wheelchair to navigate the school.
Philip Rasmussen helps his daughter, Erin, 7, up on the couch at their Elizabethtown home. Erin was diagnosed with brittle bone disease a month before birth and is only 30 inches tall.