LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

AT TIMES his body seems to be attacking itself. His limbs and shoulders are so stiff he can’t even wash his hair or reach for crockery on the top shelf. He’s in constant pain and sometimes develops painful lumps all over his body. Riaan Erasmus (23), from Lindley in the Free State, has had to learn to live with the extremely rare condition that’s slowly robbing him of his mobility: fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (Fop).

This cruel, incurable condition causes muscle and connective tissue such as sinews and ligaments to systematically be replaced by bone.

Pragmatic Riaan, an artisan, has