Working to enhance the lives of children and families living with Osteogenesis Imperfecta.
Who is the Bennett Clayton Foundation for Children with OI?
Bennett
Clayton DeBlieck was born on January
24, 2002. Weighing in at almost nine pounds
he was a
healthy, happy, beautiful baby. After reaching all major milestones right
on time it seemed the world was his for the taking until a
bazaar sequence of events thrust him into a whole new world. Shortly
before Bennett's 1st birthday he experienced his first
tibia fracture. Since that time he has had numerous leg fractures and two broken arms. The
frustration of watching our child struggle with the pain and
immobility of broken bones has led our family to the creation of the Bennett
Clayton Foundation for Children with OI (BCF). Bennett has learned and
relearned to crawl, walk and run three times after being placed in a hip spica
cast (shown on right) for the repair of three
femur fractures. OI has robbed so many
children of their freedom of mobility and consequently
independent exploration of their world. We often take for granted the
bumps and tumbles of active children, as families with OI children we hold our
breath every time they stumble. It is the mission of BCF to raise funds to be used for education and clinical research into issues that
particularly affect OI children and their families.
BCF funds will not go
directly to Bennett or his family.
The Bennett Clayton Foundation is run by
Bennett's mom, Erin DeBlieck; Bennett's paternal grandmother, Brenda DeBlieck;
and Bennett's aunt, Paula Coomer. The foundation was created in June 2003
as a non-profit corporation. With the help of Bennett's entire family, BCF
will work to raise awareness of this disorder and aid in finding better
ways to help children and their families live with OI as well as one day to find
a cure.
For more information on BCF contact us at BCFforOI@aol.com