My Mutant DNA

Genetic testing uncovered the cause of my chronic pain — and troubling questions

I am a mutant.

And not the cool kind who can shoot lasers from his eyes or phase through walls like the X-Men.

No, my mutation doesn’t make me a superhero. In fact, it’s a villain to me.

My mutated genes have caused me severe chronic pain from head to toe. As I grew from childhood, my joints and bones deformed, leading to osteoarthritis throughout the body. This led to multiple joint replacement operations on my knees, hips, and shoulders. I also had my ankles fused.

I have a rare disease called multiple epiphyseal dysplasia (MED). In my early childhood in Los Angeles, my mother recognized I couldn’t walk correctly, so she took me to a Beverly Hills orthopedist. The team doctor for what was then the Oakland Raiders and a leading physician in the field diagnosed my problem from X-rays and physical examination.

My MED diagnosis was an educated guess; back in the ’60s, the doctor couldn’t tell us why I got it. We knew it had been passed down from my mom, who grew up not knowing what disease she had, nor the origin. We couldn’t identify any of her forebears who suffered from it; it’s possible the gene mutation began with her.