April 06--Two strangers who suffer from a genetic disorder that causes their bones to break easily traveled to the Chicago area in October to drive for the first time.
Tiffany Manning and Destiny Dyer, who had broken more than 300 bones between them before the age of 3 because of their osteogenesis imperfecta, visited the Illinois Bone and Joint Institute in Morton Grove and drove a specially adapted van at the Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital in Wheaton.
Their journey was filmed for the new series "Two in a Million," scheduled to premiere 9 p.m. Wednesday on TLC. The show pairs people who share the same unusual medical conditions for a week so they can support each other and learn from each other's experiences. The Chicago-area episode is slated to air May 11.
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Manning, 21, and Dyer, 22, traveled by plane from Cleveland to Chicago, a show representative said.
Marianjoy senior clinician Anne Hegberg said the women, who both use wheelchairs, drove a high-tech Chrysler Town and Country minivan with a lower floor for wheelchair access. A touchscreen allows drivers to start the car, adjust the mirrors and control the van's temperature, among other settings.
Hegberg said the women took turns driving the van, which was donated to Marianjoy in 2010 and upgraded with a $150,000 federal grant.
"They were very excited about it," Hegberg said.
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