DESPITE her bones breaking with the slightest touch, a 32-year-old woman has become an international wheelchair dance champion and part time model. Monique ‘Dior’ Jarrett was born with a severe form of osteogenesis imperfecta type III – more commonly referred to as ‘brittle bone disease’ – a rare genetic disorder characterised by increased bone fragility and susceptibility to bone fractures. Monique, from Manchester, UK, has lost count of how many bones she has broken in her life and each morning she wakes up, she has to conduct a ‘bone-check’ to make sure she hasn’t broken anything new whilst sleeping. Due to her positive attitude, Monique’s condition has never stopped her from living life to the full – and being active. She has become a wheelchair dance champion with a collection of medals and has modelled in photoshoots for the likes of Grazia magazine. Monique told Barcroft TV: “My bones can break with the slightest touch, bump, cough or sneeze. I have to do a bit of a spot check every time I wake up, to make sure I’ve not broken a rib, or worse, a leg! It happens.” Thankfully, Monique didn’t experience much bullying in her school years. But she admits it was hard to see other children playing and doing as they pleased with no consequence. As Monique became more experienced living with her condition, she started to become more active. And just four years ago, she began her wheelchair dance journey. “It was about building my strength, mainly. I’ve won a handful of trophies in competitions now, too. It shows that all my hard work has paid off.” Monique has also pursued modelling in her spare time, notably featuring on the cover of Grazia magazine. Monique is continuing to build her social presence, raising awareness of body positivity and how you can achieve anything in life with hard work and a good attitude.