Osteogenesis Imperfecta: The real Mr Glass

If you’ve seen Unbreakable, you’ll remember Mr. Glass—elegant, cunning, and unfortunately, prone to breaking like your grandma’s favorite china plate.

Played by Samuel L. Jackson, Mr. Glass had a body so fragile that even a casual bump could result in a bone-breaking catastrophe. This rare condition isn’t just Hollywood drama—it’s based on a real disorder called Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI).

But let’s not stop at the surface of Mr. Glass’s story. What does it truly mean to live with bones that could betray you at the drop of a hat?

Imagine building a house with spaghetti instead of steel beams. Sounds ridiculous, right? That’s kind of what happens in OI. The body’s collagen—a protein that makes bones strong—is faulty, leaving the skeleton as brittle as, well, glass.

OI is caused by mutations in the COL1A1 or COL1A2 genes, the ones responsible for collagen production. Without sturdy collagen, bones become fragile and prone to fractures—sometimes hundreds over a lifetime.

But OI doesn’t stop at bones. It’s an overachiever in the worst way:

Bones that break easily (sometimes without any obvious cause).

Short stature, often due to bone deformities.

Frequent fractures that could start as early as birth.

Dental issues (your dentist would call this dentinogenesis imperfecta).

Hearing loss (even your ear bones aren’t safe).

Fragile skin and ligaments: As if bones weren’t enough.

It comes in several types, ranging from mild (a few fractures here and there) to severe (where every movement feels like a gamble). Mr. Glass? He’s Type III—severe, with frequent fractures, a wheelchair, and a lifetime of physical limitations.

Mr. Glass: A Case Study in Fragility

Elijah Price, better known as Mr. Glass, is more than just a supervillain; he’s a metaphor wrapped in an exquisitely tailored suit. While his brittle bones shatter like fine porcelain, his mind is an indomitable fortress. Isn’t that the case for so many people with chronic conditions? Where the body falters, the spirit and intellect often rise to meet the challenge.

Elijah’s childhood was a battlefield, where his enemy was his own body. For people with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), the everyday can become treacherous. A sneeze could snap a rib. A stumble might result in weeks—or months—of recovery. Life becomes an intricate dance, every movement calculated, every decision weighed against the risk of injury.

But where some might crumble, others adapt. Elijah turned isolation into innovation. In his solitude, he built a world defined not by his fragility but by his intellect. Many with OI follow a similar path, crafting lives filled with creativity, resourcefulness, and resilience. They find ways to thrive using tools, therapy, and sheer determination, refusing to be defined solely by the limits of their bodies.

There’s also the burden of knowing. Elijah’s hyper-awareness of his condition fueled his need to find meaning, even if it led him down a dark path. Living with OI often forces people to confront life’s fragility in a way most of us never will. But in that fragility, there’s also a heightened sense of beauty—a unique appreciation for the strength it takes to face a world that feels just a little more dangerous.

Mr. Glass may be fictional, but his story speaks volumes about the human condition. For those living with chronic illnesses, intellect and resilience often become the unbreakable core in a world where the body sometimes betrays.

Living with OI: The Real Story

In the real world, people with OI are far more heroic than any movie character. Managing OI takes a village and a plan:

Physiotherapy: Strengthen muscles and improve mobility without risking fractures.

Medications: Drugs like bisphosphonates can help beef up those brittle bones.

Surgery: Metal rods in long bones can provide stability (and no, they don’t turn you into Wolverine).

Support Systems: From wheelchairs to custom braces, mobility aids are game-changers.

Breaking Stereotypes, Not Bones

Here’s the thing about Mr. Glass: while his story might make OI look like a tragedy, real-life people with OI often shatter expectations (not just their bones). They go to school, work, fall in love, and live full, meaningful lives. Sure, they might have more x-rays than most people have selfies, but that doesn’t define them.

And yet, fragility doesn’t negate strength. In fact, it makes it more profound. People with OI live in a constant balancing act, a tightrope walk between caution and courage. They remind us that resilience isn’t the absence of weakness but the audacity to keep going despite it.

Mr. Glass may have turned his fragile bones into a twisted excuse for villainy, but real-life individuals with OI are superheroes in their own right. They navigate life with humor, strength, and determination that would make even all Unbreakable character tip their hat.