Sean Stephenson was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, more commonly known as brittle bone disease. People with this hereditary condition have easily broken bones and are often very short. That certainly describes Sean. He’s 2 feet 8 inches tall and by the time he was 18, he’d already suffered 200 fractures. In fact, he was literally born with broken bones and doctors didn’t expect him to live to see the next day. But live he did, aided by courage and a fighting spirit.
Things haven’t been easy for Sean, though. The way strangers stare at him and sometimes say cruel things has always been hard to bear, both for him and his loved ones. Building a positive self-image was an incredible challenge. One turning point in his life came in 1988, when he was 9. He broke one of his legs (yet again) and was in a state of panic. His mom asked him if his disease was going to be a gift or a burden. This seemingly strange question got him to thinking: what matters is what you do with what you have. Today he’s an immensely successful and highly sought-after motivational speaker. He’s literally made millions and has hundreds of thousands of fans.
Sean married his girlfriend Mindie in 2012. She’s of “normal” size and when their wedding photos were posted on-line, the internet was abuzz. Unfortunately, a lot of that buzz consisted of nasty questions about their relationship, her motivations, and even their sex life! The haters claim that Mindie is only in it for the money, that she’s cheating on him; stuff like that. In fact, they’re the real deal: a very loving couple and despite Sean’s challenges, surprisingly “normal.” You’ll find an interview with this amazing husband and wife posted below.
What do you think? Are the haters wrong? We’d love to hear from you in the comments at Facebook and be sure to like and share!
