Harry Raymond Eastlack
Harry Raymond Eastlack, Jr. was an American man who became the subject of the most recognized case of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva from the 20th century. His case is also particularly acknowledged, by scientists and researchers, for his contribution to medical advancement. After living with a rare, disabling, and currently incurable genetic disease, Eastlack decided to have his skeleton and medical history donated to the Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia in support of FOP research. His skeleton is one of the few FOP-presenting, fully articulated ones in existence, and it has proved valuable to the study of the disease.
As is characteristic of FOP patients, Eastlack did not demonstrate any possible sign of a disease at birth except for a malformation of the big toes. At the time it was not recognized as the first clinical sign of FOP. It was not until 1937 when the first heterotopic ossification symptom surfaced. By the time of his death, Eastlack's skeleton bore sheets of bone along the vertebrae that fused to and locked his skull, and branches of bone along his limbs, which immobilized his shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees. He died in Philadelphia of bronchial pneumonia six days before his 40th birthday.
Early life
Birth
Harry Raymond Eastlack, Jr., was born on, at around 10:24 a.m. in the morning, in the Woman's Hospital of Philadelphia, as the youngest of two children of Harry Raymond Eastlack, Sr., and his spouse, Helene Florence Eastlack, Sr.. There are no reports of any difficulties during delivery though there was the observation of a minor congenital malformation. The noted malformation was a congenital bilateral hallux valgus, oftentimes referred to as a bunion.Family
Harry Raymond Eastlack, Jr., lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with his sister and his parents. Eastlack was of Anglo-Scottish, Irish, and German descent, and his father was a World War I military veteran and a firefighter. Harry's elder sister Helene Davridge was born on in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and became a music teacher later as a adult. She died in September 1998, at the age of 66, in Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania, leaving behind her husband and daughter, Kristen.Childhood
Records suggest that his childhood was an active and happy one. His pastimes consisted of listening to music on the radio or records at home. Eastlack would also enjoy reading, playing with his sister, and going to the movies. Additionally, a seat was exclusively reserved for him at the center of the seventh row in Hamilton Theater, a musical theater, in Philadelphia. It has been claimed that ushers would not let anyone else sit there, as the spot was spacious enough to later allow Eastlack to stretch his immobile leg.Diagnosis
While heterotopic bone growth can begin spontaneously in FOP patients, Eastlack, like most patients, first experienced a triggered proliferation due to an illness or injury. When he was three or four years old, in 1937, while playing with his sister Helene, on a local street, a car hit him and injured his leg. He was taken to the hospital where his leg was put in a cast before returning home. The fracture never set properly, and when the cast was removed months later, his leg was painfully swollen with a high amount of inflammation. No further action was taken and shortly after, Eastlack began to experience his first set of abnormal bone growths. His hips and knees had become difficult to move. When he was taken to the hospital with this concern, the doctor took X-rays in which the bony deposits on his thigh muscles were revealed. The doctors were not able to diagnose his condition having seen this, and it continued to progress in the anatomically characteristic manner that FOP does. Eastlack soon suffered flare-ups along his back, neck, and chest.In attempts to diagnose and treat Eastlack's condition, the doctors ordered biopsies and performed a total of 11 surgical procedures to remove excess and heterotopic ossification, such as that on his thigh muscles. However, Eastlack's condition was aggravated by such procedures and the bone plates returned thicker and more predominant. It was 1938, the year after the incident, when he was finally diagnosed with myositis ossificans progressiva, which is now known as Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva.
Later life and FOP progression
Unaware of the consequences of surgery on an FOP patient, the physician admitted Eastlack for hip surgery in 1941 which caused further physical restriction. Over time Eastlack became more and more immobilized as more joints became fused and newly formed sheets or strings of bone calcified his limbs. In 1944 he was readmitted for a study which confirmed that the calcified smooth muscles, tendons, and ligaments had indeed become mature bone. The ossification along his vertebrae and other anatomical parts that Eastlack would suffer in the next 29 years ultimately fused him into a permanently bowed position.Eastlack's case of FOP progressed at a more rapid rate due to the number of intrusive surgeries he underwent. In 1948, at the age of 15, his jaw had become fused so he could no longer eat solid food and had to speak through clenched teeth. At a young age he faced difficulty sitting down, as well. His hips were one of the first anatomical parts to become immobilized due to heterotopic ossification. Soon, bone formed across his upper arms and extended onto his sternum, tying his arms to his breast. Sheets of bone spread along his back and ribbons of bone extended from there to his skull, inhibiting proper head movement. The new bone growths throughout the years also caused juts of bone to form on his pelvis and thighs, and it caused both of his feet to become clubbed. One year he accidentally bumped his buttocks into a radiator, and this resulted in a bruise wherein the smooth tissue was destroyed and gave way to newly formed bone. Ultimately, the only physical mobilites that Eastlack had left were that of his face, his tongue, and partially his teeth and jaw, although this was extremely restricted.
As the disease progressed and his bones ossified and he became more immobilized, Eastlack struggled more with routine movement and self-care.
His family would take care of him, but when she was too weak and feeble to continue taking care of him, as she grew older, Eastlack was then taken to a nursing home in Philadelphia, The Inglis House for the Incurables, which is now simply known as the Inglis House.