Turkish woman with glass bone disease holds onto life with books

By Halife Yalcinkaya

SIVAS, Turkey (AA) - A Turkish woman in the central Sivas province struggling with glass bone disease finds solace in reading, and has been a bookworm all her life.

Tugba Fidan, who has a height of just 50 centimeters, has not been able to attend school in-person, but graduated from primary, secondary and high school after passing their exams.

Her parents, Nuriye and Osman, also lost their first child at the age of 10 due to the same disease, a genetic disorder that results in fragile bones that break easily. They provide all kind of assistance, support to their beloved daughter.

"I love reading books ... my mother taught me how to read and write," she told Anadolu Agency, adding that she wants to study in a university but to no avail due to the precarious health condition.

The 33-year-old said she occasionally goes out when the weather is convenient and hangs out with friends, but the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent restrictions disrupted her routine for a while.

"When it is too cold to go outside, books become my friends without which I could not have a life," she said.

Mother Nuriye says she was unable to provide her daughter formal education due to financial shortcomings, and thus taught her all by herself.

"She graduated this year and got her high school diploma. She wants to go to university but cannot due to health issues," the mother said, adding that her daughter has to be handled with extreme care as even the tiniest moves could trigger catastrophic results.

"I have always been grateful to God, she is a gift from the Lord and I will be by her side till death do us part," she said.

*Writing by Ali Murat Alhas in Ankara