Anaya and her dad sit together at the Ronald McDonald House.
Anaya sits up for the first time during a 2023 occupational therapy session.
Anaya safely stands up during water therapy.
Anaya holds an aloe plant during horticultural therapy.
Anaya Advances with Osteogenesis Imperfecta
Anaya attends school after pediatric orthopedic care changed her life.
Shriners Children’s expertise in rare orthopedic conditions can be life‑changing – so much so that some families travel from around the globe for care.
Anaya’s journey from Pakistan to Shriners Children’s Chicago started in 2023 for multiple surgeries on her legs, and she recently returned for more treatment. The 11-year-old was so moved by her time at Shriners Chicago that it has inspired her to pay it forward someday and become a doctor or scientist.
Anaya was born with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), an inherited and rare brittle bone disease, which can cause soft bones that break or fracture easily.
“When she was born, she was with eight fractures (in) her legs and also in both arms,” said her dad, Muhammad.
For the first nine years of Anaya’s life, she was unable to sit up due to the effects of her OI. She was also unable to attend school in person, so her family home-schooled her. She managed to learn English by watching YouTube videos in bed. In 2023, her parents made the decision to travel abroad to Shriners Children’s to find hope and the OI care that Anaya needed to thrive.
Our healthcare system is known for being a leader in treating this condition. In the 1950s, Shriners Chicago physicians developed the first surgically-successful treatment for the disorder, known as bone rodding, which is still in use today. Shriners Children’s is also on the leading edge of OI research and is actively working toward additional innovative treatment options to help children with OI.
Peter Smith, M.D., a pediatric orthopedic surgeon who leads the OI program at Shriners Children's Chicago, performed four rodding surgeries in 2023 on Anaya. She also had physical and occupational therapy, where she slowly and carefully built up the strength to sit up and later scoot.
After those rodding surgeries, something else life-altering happened. She was able to go to school, a topic that makes Muhammad emotional – but as Anaya puts it, they are “tears of joy.”
Here, the doctors not only treat the patient, but they also treat the children just like their own children.
In late 2025, Anaya and her family returned to Shriners Children’s Chicago for scoliosis treatment. First, our pediatric spine team used halo gravity traction, a method that gently stretches and straightens the spine. Then she underwent spinal fusion surgery in early 2026.
She continues to work with the rehabilitation teams, wearing a plastic brace to protect her back as it heals. She and her family will return to Shriners Children's Chicago for more therapy in the future.
“My experience with Shriners has been amazing!” said Anaya. “If you know anyone who has osteogenesis imperfecta, that's not getting treatment, contact Shriners. They can help in any way possible.”
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