Living with Osteogenesis Imperfecta and Managing Chronic Pain
I’ve met countless remarkable people through my work, but few journeys have woven themselves into my life the way Jaela’s has. The truth is, I didn’t just meet her for the first time on the day we filmed her story—I’ve known her since the day she was born.
I’ve watched her grow, fight, break, heal, and rise again. I’ve watched her navigate a world not built for bodies like hers, and yet do it with more courage and humor than most of us muster in a lifetime. So when Cheryl and I drove to her home to film her story, it didn’t feel like a production day—it was a family visit.
Getting to Know Jaela
Jaela has osteogenesis imperfecta—OI—more commonly known as brittle bone disease. I remember the first time her parents explained her diagnosis, and I remember the concern in their eyes. Over the years, I’ve seen what that diagnosis means in real time:
fractures that happen unpredictably, pain that lingers long after the cast comes off, a childhood shaped by caution—but also resilience.
OI affects roughly 1 in 10,000–20,000 people, but numbers don’t tell you what it looks like to watch someone you’ve known since infancy learn to move with precision, protect their frame, and still keep their personality shining through it all.
When I walked into her home for the shoot, she greeted me with that same signature confidence I’ve known since she was little. A sparkle in her eye. A grin that says, “Yes, life is hard, but I’m harder to break.”
Filming the Story: A Conversation Years in the Making
When the cameras rolled, we settled into a conversation that felt less like an interview and more like a continuation of all the others we’ve had through the years.
She talked openly about living with OI—how fractures happen from even casual bumps, how it affects her social life, how pain cycles linger long after the bone has technically healed.
Then she talked about the Rezzimax Tuner.
She didn’t talk about it as some magic solution—I would’ve corrected her if she had. She talked about it as a tool that finally gave her something rare: control.
Power over tension patterns. An active role in her own pain relief.
A Cat's Purr: Nature's Secret to Healing
I told Jaela something that made her smile:
Cats purr in the 20–150 Hz frequency range, and scientists have studied those frequencies for their ability to:
- improve bone density
- reduce inflammation
- ease pain
- speed bone healing—up to 60% faster in some studies
These frequencies are gentle, rhythmic, consistent—much like the Rezzimax Tuner.
The Tuner isn’t a cure for OI. But for people like Jaela—or anyone with conditions like OI, osteoporosis, arthritis, or chronic tension—it can:
- release protective muscle tightness
- improve circulation
- soothe the nervous system
- help the body recover after injuries
It gives relief without requiring movement that might risk further fractures.
And that, for someone with OI, is a game changer.
Resilience Through the Pain
Driving home after our evening together, I kept thinking about one thing:
Jaela taught me more in a day than I could have ever taught her.
Her story isn’t about brittle bones.
It’s about resilience.
About how strength can exist in forms we don’t always recognize. About how people can harmonize with challenges instead of being crushed by them.
And that’s exactly why we made her video.
The Rezzimax Tuner isn’t just a device; it’s a companion for people who carry pain they never asked for. For people like Jaela—people who deserve tools that support their resilience rather than define their condition.
If Jaela’s Story Resonates With You
Whether you live with OI, chronic pain, tension patterns, or another bone-related condition, know this:
You deserve relief.
You deserve tools that help you reclaim your life.
And you’re not alone.
If you haven’t seen the video yet, I encourage you to watch it—and meet Jaela the way I did:
not as someone with brittle bones, but as someone with unbreakable spirit.
Jaela’s story is just one example, but it represents millions.
If you haven’t watched the video yet, I invite you to.
Not to witness brittle bones—but to witness a strong spirit, years in the making, learning to live in harmony with a challenging body.
A complete script of the video:
Jaela: I'm Jaela, and I'm 14 years old.
The condition I've lived with my whole life is osteogenesis imperfecta, or you can shorten it to OI. Not many people know about osteogenesis imperfecta—it's not very common. You go to a doctor’s office and even some doctors are like, “Well, I’ve heard of it. I read about it in a book, but I can’t really help you. I don’t know that much. But maybe we can try this doctor or that doctor.”
Dad: Her condition was just a random genetic mutation. No family history.
Jaela: The last bone that I broke was my pelvis. I break things so often. I’ve broken so many that I just don’t keep count anymore.
Dad: At first, it was a lot of coordinating. It was a lot of figuring out where to go, what to do, and who to talk with. A lot of stress and heartache as you're figuring out what Jaela can do, but then also the limitations.
Mom: In the beginning, Jeremy was working a lot of hours, so it was me taking her to doctors—so many appointments. I’ve learned words I didn’t want to know the meaning of.
Jaela: The amount of times I’ve been in the hospital that I remember is when I’m going to get my port flushed, getting an infusion, having a surgery, or just going to a checkup. But I don’t know how many times I’ve been in and out.
I’ve had to miss a lot of school because of my surgeries and recovering from them. I’d have to take days off to recover. Or sometimes I wouldn’t, because we would plan it around a break so I already had the days off.
The most difficult surgery I’ve had was probably my spine getting fused. I was in the hospital for a really long time, and I don't remember being in there or doing anything. It was just a week of my life that I don’t remember.
Dad: For about the first 11 years, we actually flew out to Omaha, Nebraska, to visit a team of specialists who managed her care. It hasn’t been until recently that, at least locally here in Utah, we were able to find more physicians with more experience who have the knowledge and skills to not only treat and help, but do it safely and effectively, and with the research behind it.
Jaela: It’s affected me in many ways. A lot of my mobility is gone. I’m in pain a lot, and it's just hard to do things that normal kids can do. I feel like I'm always missing out on stuff. I can't do sports because I can't run or get up and play games. I feel bad that I can’t do that stuff, and it just kind of sucks.
When I got the Tuner and started trying it out, I would turn it on for short periods of time. But the longer I had it, I would lay in my bed and turn it on, and it would tune out the pain next to where I was hurting. It would vibrate out where my pain was, so I wasn’t in as much pain.
Other ways I think it helped me were mostly falling asleep and staying asleep. It really helped with that, so I didn’t wake up in pain after a surgery. It also helped me get better faster.
I'll use it if I get home from school and I'm in a lot of pain. If I have something broken, I use it to tune out the pain. If I'm trying to focus on something and don't want to focus on the pain, I’ll just turn it on and use it to distract me.
Dad: It’s such a great device that doesn’t require medical attention. It doesn’t require prescriptions. In Jaela’s words, she says it “just kind of numbs the pain.” The frequencies numb the pain, distract from it, and help some of the nerves.
As more research goes into these products, it’s never going to 100% make things better, but it’s going to make them livable.
Some of the struggles with osteogenesis imperfecta are obviously pain—whether it’s chronic or acute. Old fractures that are still healing, new fractures that are going to happen every day. Pain management is always one of the main focuses in medicine. You see different pain management physicians and try to find what helps—whether it’s a new prescription, a new pain drug, devices like the Rezzimax.
One thing we’ve noticed over time is that some drugs work and some don’t. You tend to stick with the ones that work, but over time your body gets accustomed to them and they’re not as effective as they used to be. And yes, they still help, but then you have to weigh the side effects. Is the nausea worse than the pain? Do I deal with the nausea so I have less pain? Or do I just deal with the pain because I don’t want the nausea?
One of the benefits of the Rezzimax is that you don’t have that. You’re not going to get nausea or all the other side effects. If it can take away the pain without the effects on your body—your liver and other organs—those long-term impacts… that’s the long-term goal. You start to find new ways so you're not dependent on prescriptions.
Jaela has mentioned that aqua therapy—being in a pool—helps eliminate gravity, the stresses, and the physical strain on her body.
Jaela: This is where you can turn it on. It has a really cool vibration. You can turn up or down how fast the vibrations go. If I’m in more pain, I’ll turn it up. If not, I leave it at the regular setting—like when I’m falling asleep.
There are a bunch of different modes that do different vibrations, which is cool. Then you can just have the regular two settings. Usually I just like to sit in my bed and place it next to me because it vibrates the bed.
On the new Tuner Mini, I’m excited to explore the different modes. I didn’t really know what they meant on the last one, but now I’m excited to try them out and see how they help me focus, wake up, or fall asleep.
I think it's a good idea because if you're trying to fall asleep, you don't want to have it on all night and waste the battery. It’ll turn off, and then you still have battery for the next night.
Mom: In the next few years, I'm looking forward to her being in high school. She’s had a lot of fun in these first few months—football games, dances. It’s exciting to think about college. That’s another new world we’ll have to figure out together. I’m excited for her to be growing up. She’s fun to be with.
Jaela: My high school experience—I’ve had to accommodate a lot of things so I can fit my wheelchair into spaces and so I don’t get hurt, basically keeping me protected from breaking a bone. Moving desks out of the way, or I don’t fit at desks with other people. So I have to sit in the back, or I can’t participate in group activities.
I would like my high school experience better if there were just less homework and easier ways to do things for my mobility.
Dad: It helps that I happen to have a medical background. If we didn’t have that—if we couldn’t understand where we were going or what terminology meant—it would be even more difficult.
Mom: Being Jaela’s mother, I’ve learned how to be a nurse, a chauffeur, and a personal assistant. I’ve had to learn how to change our environment to better suit her needs. I’ve had to learn how to navigate school policy to make sure she’s safe at school.
If I were to meet a new mom with a child with OI, I would tell her: trust yourself. Trust your instincts. You know your child best. You know what’s best.
A diagnosis of OI doesn’t mean your child can’t live a full life. Your child can still live a happy life.
Jaela: “Dad, I like to play guitar with you.”
Dad: We try not to limit anything we do. We say, “Anything she wants to do, we’ll figure out a way to do it.”
Jaela: Right now, when I grow up, I think I really want to be a photographer. It’s something that brings me joy. It’s really fun to do. I use my mom’s camera, and I like to take pictures of everything—experimenting with things and people and lighting and a bunch of different ideas. It’s just a really fun hobby that I love.
As a family, we really like to go boating. It’s fun because I get to go in the water, and it relieves my pain. I don’t feel all the weight that I feel when I’m on land.
We also like to go camping, and I love that because I enjoy being in nature.
It’s really nice to have their support when I’m in pain or when I have to stay home after surgery. They always keep me company. I like hanging out with them because they do things that I can do, and I want to do things with people who can help me modify activities so I can participate. That’s really nice.
Mom: “Do we have a dream?”
Jaela: “No."
Mom: "We’re living the dream!”