The 59th Missouri Photo Workshop / Chillicothe, Mo.
The lump of a port-a-cath raises the delicate skin of Mihaley Schlegel’s upper chest region. She has Osteogenesis imperfecta (Brittle Bone Disease) and gets a dose of medicine through this access point every nine weeks to help ease the pain in her arthritic joints. Mihaley has fractured bones 65 times, making emergency room trips routine. Technically a dwarf, she’s not much bigger then her 2-year-old sister Macie and will only grow to about four feet tall.
PHOTO BY Sadie Quarrier / MPW.59