E033 - Get Off Your 'But' With Sean Stephenson

Sean Stephenson was broken at birth. Doctors told his parents to prepare for their newborn’s death. Their newborn son had been born with so many broken bones, it was easier to count the unbroken ones. He would never survive, they said. Luckily, Sean had no idea he was supposed to die, and his parents had no intention of giving up on their baby. Sean knows it is his parents’ love for him that carried him through dangerous years. “Their greatest gift to me,” he says, “was refusing to lose faith in my survival.” Osteogenesis Imperfecta, or Brittle Bone Disease, is a daunting, painful condition. This genetic disorder leaves bones vulnerable to breaking with little to no provocation. For Sean, the natural act of being born was enough to crush most of his bones. For years afterward, it was his parents who encouraged him to think beyond his disabilities and focus on his abilities instead. When disappointment sank its claws into him, his parents would be right there reminding him there is more than one way to realize a dream.