Meet Jasmine, a patient who is treated by our experts in the Center for Excellence in Hand.

Blog written by Jasmine's mother, Sheila, of Pearland, TX.

Jasmine is our beautiful and talented 16-year-old daughter. She was born with a rare congenital condition that causes shortening of the bones in her fingers, called brachydactyly type c.

This condition has required multiple surgeries throughout her life and her first surgery was when she was just 2 years old. Our family was living in Germany at the time and I remember that Jasmine did not slow down one bit following that surgery. As she recovered, her hands were each wrapped and bandaged for weeks. I was amazed at how she continued to play with her dolls, with just her little thumbs sticking out of her casts. She never once complained about the casts or asked to have them removed.

She learned how to do a cartwheel when she was just 5. Fast forward to late elementary school and by the time she was in sixth grade, she was doing elite gymnastics training. She won many different awards, including being named the Texas State Champion, in her age group for the beam. Jasmine eventually stepped away from competition and began to volunteer with toddlers at her gym. She loved working with children while being able to share her love for the sport.

Jasmine loves to help others and hopes to have a career in the medical field. She is involved with the Health Occupation Students of America program at her high school, as well as the Athletic Training Program. Her inquisitive mind views each appointment with Dr. Oishi as an opportunity to ask questions and is always wanting to learn more. She loves to talk to her nurses and occupational therapists about their career choices and even dreams of working at Scottish Rite someday!

Scottish Rite hand camp is absolutely amazing and has also played a huge part in her life. She came home from her first time attending and cried happy tears as she was telling me all about it. This was the first time that she had ever experienced being around peers who also had hand differences. She’s been able to attend three different times and has made deep, lasting friendships.  

One of Jasmine’s hobbies is embroidery and I love to watch her beautiful creations come to light. Over this past year, she has had a couple different surgeries with Dr. Oishi. The hand team is wonderful and thanks to Jasmine’s hard work and positive attitude, her future is looking great.

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