PROJECT: Tyler

What exactly is Project: Tyler?
Project: Tyler is a 2 part video that my sisters and I came up with on Sunday, December 26, 2010. First and foremost, it is to raise awareness about Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI). I have a feeling most reading this really haven't heard of it unless: A) You or someone you love has OI. B) You've read the book "Handle With Care". C) You've watched the movie "Unbreakable". THAT is the reason we want to raise awareness about this rare yet painful bone disease. Part 2, which makes it our own personal project is to make Tyler's wish come true. 

What exactly is Tyler's wish?
For the past 3 years, Tyler has been asking me (his aunt) for one thing. He wants to meet Selena Gomez. Of course, you say, so does a lot of other teens, pre-teens, and kids out there. You're right, but a lot of those kids don't deal with what Tyler goes through on a daily basis. He deserves to get his wish and Project: Tyler will continue till people are made aware of the disease Tyler and children/adults like him live with... and till he meets 'the girl of his dreams' aka Selena Gomez.

Why Now?
As I type this first blog, I'm sitting in a hospital room at the Children's Hospital in Houston, Texas on a rather uncomfortable makeshift bed next to Tyler who is even more discomfort than I am. He's lying flat on his back with his right arm casted from the fingers up past his elbows, propped up on a pillow. Looking just a bit further down, you'll see a splint covering from high on Tyler's right thigh all the way down past his toes, where a large bulge around his knee makes you wonder how many times it's been wrapped... till you realize that it's the size of his knee. He cracked his knee cap in half. Lower down the right side of his body he shattered the bones in his right foot. When you look to the left, you see a soft cast covering from high on his thigh down to his calf, holding together his femur which is now crushed.
Let's recap: Broken right arm, cracked right knee cap, shattered right foot, crushed left femur... and that's just what they can see so far. Just less than an hour ago, we were told that they would be bringing him in for another CT scan to be sure exactly what type of operating should be done.
As it stands, Tyler is looking at wires and pins for his knee cap, screws for his foot, and rods/nails in his femur. The doctor has warned us that the operation on his knee is not what they would normally do since it will hault Tyler's growth in that leg, but that they really have no other option.

(Oh side note, Selena Gomez is playing from itunes on my computer and he's listening to her as he rests. He didn't want TV or other Music, but when I suggested Selena, he DID want to listen to her)

So what caused this? A car accident, major fall from a high tree, off a building, mountain climbing accident or something... no. He tripped in the parking lot. Yes, you read it correctly. What would've been simply a bruise to our ego that we tripped in public has this 13 year old boy in a hospital bed in severe pain from multiple bones breaking, getting ready to undergo 5-6 hour surgery that most people will never endure in their lifetime... and this isn't his first round of surgeries, rods, or breaks. Tyler, at 13, has lost count of how many bones he's actually broken but it's close to 200 now. His 100'th break came when he wasn't even 10 years old. (Oddly, we threw a party- not to celebrate it but just to find a way to be positive in such a hard situation)

THIS is 'normal' for Tyler, at least the normal he knows. Tyler has been breaking bones since he was 10 months old when he broke his elbow, but Doctors say it's possible that he was born with broken bones. THIS is Tyler's life. Through it all, he's got a great spirit, a contagious smile and a wonderful heart... and a crazy assurance that he's going to meet Selena Gomez. In fact he says "Justin Beiber don't got nothing on me. She'll love me, she just hasn't met me yet."

PROJECT: Tyler was thought up to give this amazing kid the gift of his dreams, to see him smile and to make him feel as special as we all know he is.

Soon, there will be a 2-part video released from PROJECT:Tyler's Youtube Channel (http://www.youtube.com/ProjectTylerOI). At that point, we (Tyler's family and friends) hope that others will view the video (do as it says) then pass it on to others, who will then pass it on to others, and so on and so forth. Tyler is NOT the only one suffering from OI, others like him experience similar conditions that Tyler does.

Please help PROJECT:Tyler spread awareness AND help us make Tyler's dream come true.