3-Year-Old Girl Born With Rare Brittle Bone Condition Can't Stop Dancing And Smiling

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

Little Cyn'niah Burton is dancing her way to internet stardom thanks to her upbeat attitude and adorable smile.

The cute 3-year-old, from Woodville, Mississippi, was born with the rare genetic disorder osteogenesis imperfecta type 3, which causes severe bone fragility and malformations. Infants with the condition typically develop shortened and bowed limbs, small chests and a soft skull cap, the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation reports, as well as respiratory and swallowing problems. When Cyn'niah was born, she already had several broken bones, mom Destini Jackson told Good Morning America.

"She spent one month in the NICU - we brought her home then brought her back due to colic because of the casts," Jackson told GMA. "I had to teach myself how to handle her."

Because Cyn'niah cannot move around by herself without becoming injured, she is soon going to have surgery to place telescoping rods in her legs and thigh bones, which may allow her to one day stand and walk on her own.

"She knows that other kids are moving around and she tries to do what they do," Jackson told GMA. "I can tell she wants to walk, and she can tell something is different about her."

Despite the discomfort and difficulties she is experiencing at such a young age, Cyn'niah - who is lovingly nicknamed Little Cee Bitty Bee - has remained a smiling ray of sunshine.

For weeks, her mother has posted clips and videos of Cyn'niah to Facebookand Instagram, picking up a collection of thousands of followers who tune in to see the toddler's daily laughs and dances (she loves grooving to Golden Girls).

"She's absolutely the sweetest, funniest, inspirational baby I've ever laid eyes on," Jackson told GMA. “She automatically captures your heart and you can see the determination in her. She's so bubbly and even when she's in pain, she's constantly smiling and never lets anything keep her down.”

The family recently started a GoFundMe page to raise money for Cyn'niah's upcoming surgery, set for later this month. It has raised a little more than $ 800 of its $ 2,000 goal.

"I want [Cyn'niah] to know, 'You're a little special, but it doesn't mean you're not like every other child,'" Jackson told the news outlet. "If she keeps the same attitude, then she will go above and beyond what people think she could do."