6 News reporter shares her mom's story

Publish date: 2024-07-21

SOMERSET COUNTY, Pa. (WJAC) — May is National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month.

6 News Reporter Nicole Fuschino is sharing her mom's story to help prevent more women from getting the disease.

If you ever see my mom out and about, you'll probably see me too (we're always together).

But you'll also see her wearing a back brace.

That's because she has severe osteoporosis, with 12 compression fractures in her back at just 51 years old.

You typically don't know that you even have osteoporosis until it's too late. Until you have a break or two. In my case, I had 12," Susan Fuschino said.

She's letting me share her story this month, so that hopefully others don't end up in the same boat as her.

"I'm constantly asking my husband and my daughter to pick things up, to help me with things around the house, just basic, simple tasks that you don't think anything of, but I just can't do anymore," Susan said.

My mom was a teacher at Westmont Hilltop Elementary School for 24 years, primarily teaching kindergarten and fourth grade.

"I always wanted to be a teacher. I loved the kids. I loved it, so I didn't consider it work," she said.

She started complaining of back pain, just thinking it was due to her physically demanding career.

"I thought it was just from being on my feet teaching every day. It got to the point that it was excruciating. I couldn't even walk," Susan said.

An X-ray revealed multiple compression fractures, and then a bone density scan (DEXA scan) revealed that she had osteoporosis.

I thought, how in the world could I have osteoporosis? I literally couldn't even get up. The pain was overwhelming. It just dominated my life during that time," she said.

My mom was forced into retirement at 47, with the career she was born to have stripped away from her.

"It seems crazy, because you wait your whole life to retire, but when it's forced upon you, it's really life changing."

But the big question: why did this happen?

She has parathyroid issues, has been on intense steroids, and had an early hysterectomy - all contributing factors.

But the moral of the story is: no matter why you get it -- you don't know you have it -- until it's too late.

"I wish there was more of a focus on prevention, rather than what to do after the fact, once you have broken bones or compression fractures," Susan said.

I spoke with Dr. Haleh Haerian, an Endocrinologist at UPMC Altoona, for her advice on protecting people from osteoporosis.

"It's very important to take care of our bones. We only get one set of skeletons in our lifetime," she said.

Dr. Haerian says that when women enter menopause, they start to lose estrogen.

That's one of the hormones that keep your bones healthy.

So, whether it be from natural menopause -- or menopause brought on by a hysterectomy -- bones can weaken and fracture as a result.

That's why it's important to ask your doctor about hormone replacement therapy.

(That wasn't an option for my mom due to other health concerns.)

However, in that case, my mom says she wishes she would have been counseled about that more, prior to her hysterectomy.

Naturally, at age 50, we stop making the estrogen, but if somebody has their ovaries removed at age 20, that's when menopause happens. So, when we make the bone, we start losing it a lot faster the minute that ovaries are removed from our body," Dr. Haerian said.

Dr. Haerian says, in a healthy individual, osteoporosis can be prevented by your lifestyle choices.

That including getting enough calcium, dairy, and Vitiman D in your diet, doing weight-bearing exercises, and limiting alcohol and smoking.

But if you are at risk for osteoporosis -- whether is be from a hysterectomy, menopause, or other health concern -- ask your doctor for a DEXA scan.

"There are lots of things that could happen that makes us get bad bones," Dr. Haerian said.

She also says: be open-minded to osteoporosis prevention medications if you need them.

"Statistically, more women die after a hip fracture than from breast cancer. If someone gets breast cancer, they don't care about what medicine they get. They just tell you, 'Give it to me. I just don't want to have this. I just want to get better.' Then you have osteoporosis, and we say, 'You're very high risk for breaking your hip.' But people aren't scared of it. They say, 'I haven't broken yet, so I am not worried,'" Dr. Haerian said.

As for my mom, she's now on treatments to help rebuild her bones.

She's done physical therapy, wears back braces, and has cushions and heating pads all over the house.

But it could have been prevented with the right counseling from doctors.

My advice to women is to be proactive. Take control of your health. If you suspect something, ask a doctor about it. Even if you just aren't sure if you have weak bones or not, ask a doctor to recommend that you have a DEXA scan done," Susan said.

While I wish she was still teaching, I'm happy that I get to spend more time with my best friend at home.

"My husband and daughter have been extremely helpful in anything that I need done. Emptying the dishwasher and washing clothes. So, I basically get to sit there and boss them around," Susan said.

But we just look at it as returning the favor for all she's done for us.

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