Looking at the impish grin on his face, one would never imagine the difficulties that Oliver Cope has endured since he was born on March 25, 2016.
The 7-year-old Blasdell boy suffers from a genetic disease called osteogenesis imperfecta that makes his bones so brittle that he has already broken more than 100 of them.
“Oliver even broke a bone in his leg before he was born, while I was pregnant with him,” said his mother, Amanda Cope. “He has steel rods supporting his arms and legs.”
The little guy uses a wheelchair and has had dozens of surgeries and medical procedures – far more already than most adults endure in a lifetime.
Despite all that – and with the help of Oishei Children’s Hospital and its supporters – his mom said Oliver has lived a remarkably ordinary life.
He attends school in a mainstream second-grade class at Blasdell Elementary in the Frontier School District. Except for gym class, he does everything his classmates do.
“The kids at school are nice to him and he has a couple of best friends. He enjoys school. He really loves playing video games, especially Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog and Ninja Turtles.”
“Basically,” she added. “Ollie is a happy kid, who just chugs along past every challenge.”
This year, Oliver is the celebrity child for the annual Variety Kids Telethon. He is just one of tens of thousands of children who have been helped by the Buffalo TV fundraising marathon, now in its 62nd year.
Doctors, nurses and therapists from Children’s Hospital have overseen Oliver’s care since he was born.
Once a week, he goes to the Oishei Children’s Aquatic Center in Orchard Park – largely funded by Telethon donations – for badly needed water therapy.
“He loves the warm water and he’s able to stretch his legs a bit in the pool, which feels good to him…he spends so much time sitting in his wheelchair,” Amanda Cope said.
Described by its organizers as the longest-running, locally…
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