Five-Month-Old Lexi Robins Is ‘Turning To Stone’ Due To A Rare Condition

A five-month-old baby girl from the United Kingdom is “turning to a stone” due to an extremely rare genetic condition that turns muscles into bones. Lexi Robins was born on January 31 and seemed like any other normal baby, except she didn’t move her thumb and had bigger toes.

Her concerned parents took her to the doctors. But it took a while before Lexi was diagnosed with a life-limiting disease called Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP), which affects just one in two million. Her X-rays, done in April, revealed that she had bunions on her feet and double-jointed thumbs. The FOP can lead to bone formation outside the skeleton and restrict movement. It is believed to replace muscles and connective tissues, such as tendons and ligaments, with bone. Thus, it is generally perceived that the condition turns a body into stone.

People with this disease, which has no proven treatment, can be bedridden by the age of 20 and their life expectancy is around 40 years. Due to the disorder, Lexi’s condition may worsen rapidly if she suffers any minor trauma, as simple as falling over. She cannot receive injections, vaccinations, and dental care and cannot give birth.