Their bones appear to have melted and fused together.
The upper arms are welded to the ribcage, and the pelvis is fused to the thigs bones.
Thin stalagmites of bone launch outward from everywhere.
But the two specimens at the Mutter Museum have their bones naturally and completely fused into a contiguous piece.
FOP is so rare that there are only about 700 known cases worldwide.
The injured leg was put in a cast, but the fracture never healed properly.
Months later, when the cast was removed, his leg was swollen and inflamed.
Soon he found it difficult to move his hips and knees.
X-rays revealed abnormal bone growths on his thighs.
This later spread along his back, neck, and chest.
The skeleton of Harry Raymond Eastlack.
Photo:Joh-co/Wikimedia Commons
Despite the sufferings, Harry had a relatively happy childhood.
At the age of 15, Harrys jaw became fused making him unable to eat solid food.
He had to speak through clenched teeth.
He had difficulty siting down, as his hips were one of the first to become immobilized.
Throughout the years, new bone growths caused juts of bone to form on his pelvis and thighs.
Eventually, the only mobility that Harry was left with was in his eyes, lips, and tongue.
Harry died in 1973, just six days shy of his 40th birthday.
Carol Orzel’s skeleton at the Mutter Museum.
By the early 20th century, only about a hundred cases were found mentioned in medical literature.
Currently there is no cure for FOP.
Like Harry, Carol too was born in Philadelphia, in 1959.
She needed help with eating and dressing because she couldnt bend her elbows.
She drew landscapes and made greeting cards.
The stick also enabled her to put on makeup.
Carol Orzel in the early 1990s with Mary Hitner, her best friend at Inglis House.
Carol died in the same nursing home where Harry spent his last years.
Carol decided to donate her body after she learnt about Harry and saw his skeleton at the Mutter Museum.
Both Harrys and Carols skeletons have proven to be an invaluable source of information in the study of FOP.
