More than 60 bones in Animesh Lamichhane’s body have fractured over the years. His nose, ribs, shoulders, arms and legs have all broken at different times.

With every fracture, however, the 15-year-old from Pokhara’s Lakeside grew more determined to continue his studies. This year, he passed the Secondary Education Examination (SEE) with a 3.37 GPA.

Born on May 17, 2009, Lamichhane was just 11 months old when his family realised something was unusual about his physical condition. His thigh bone fractured for the first time. After that, some part of his body began breaking almost every month.

Doctors later diagnosed him with osteogenesis imperfecta, commonly known as brittle bone disease. The condition makes bones extremely fragile, meaning even normal movement or a slight impact can lead to fractures.

X-rays, plaster casts, surgeries and the fear of another fracture became part of daily life for the family. Often, another bone would break within a month or two of a cast being removed.

After 16 fractures, the family decided in 2012 to take Animesh to Canada for treatment. At the Shriners Hospital for Children in Montreal, doctors inserted telescopic rods into both his legs. The rods gradually expand along with bone growth. He also began treatment with pamidronate, a medicine administered intravenously for three days every three months.

After returning to Nepal, Animesh enrolled at National Inventive Boarding School in Pokhara. But attending school was itself a challenge.

“We never let him feel weak,” recalled his father, Khim Lamichhane. “Sometimes we took him to school in a stroller, sometimes in a wheelchair. Even while undergoing treatment at home, he never stopped studying.”

The school also made arrangements for him by shifting classrooms to the ground floor and widening doorways for easier access.

His classmates, too, became a major source of support. They carried his schoolbag, helped him reach the toilet and assisted him whenever needed.

“My friends are truly angels,” Animesh said emotionally.

According to his father, Animesh’s condition became even more serious in 2024 when both his legs fractured at the same time, one in the thigh and another near the waist. Treatment became more complicated because he already had spinal curvature and structural problems in his hip.

After four months, he slowly began taking a few steps with the help of a walker, offering the family some relief. But the improvement did not last long. While sitting on a chair, his right arm fractured. A week later, while trying to walk again, his left arm also broke.

He then became fully dependent on others for daily activities, including eating, brushing his teeth, turning in bed or even scratching an itch.

By then, the number of fractures had crossed 60.

“For any parent, watching your child’s bones break more than 60 times feels unbearable,” his father said. “But his passion for studying kept us strong.”

“He never once blamed God or asked why this had happened to him. That gave us courage,” the father added.

After the casts on both arms were removed, the family again tried to help him walk. But severe pain developed around his hip joint. Months of physiotherapy brought little improvement, prompting the family to seek treatment abroad again.

After an unsuccessful attempt to arrange treatment in Sweden, Animesh and his mother, Durga Lamichhane, travelled to the same hospital in Montreal on June 6, 2025. Doctors there concluded that surgery would not help further and advised continued physiotherapy as the main treatment. They returned to Nepal after three months.

The long treatment process, repeated hospital stays and uncertainty over his mobility gradually affected Animesh emotionally. Although he continued attending school, he struggled to focus on his studies.

At that point, his teachers encouraged him to play Scrabble. The game helped him regain confidence. Soon, he secured third place in an inter-school competition organised by Pokhara Public Library.

That success motivated him to compete at local, district and national levels. Last November, he earned a place in an international tournament in Thailand after finishing among the top players at a national competition in Hetauda. The achievement also helped him regain confidence and refocus on the SEE.

Frequent hospital stays and treatment abroad had created major gaps in his studies, leaving him uncertain about appearing in the examinations. Encouraged by his teachers, he decided to sit the exams and spent a month preparing intensively at home before the tests.

He eventually secured a 3.37 GPA, earning an A grade.

“I believed he would achieve this result,” said Animesh’s father, who works at Manipal Teaching Hospital in Pokhara. “He never let his circumstances define him.”

Alongside his SEE success, Animesh is now preparing for another milestone. Later this year, he will travel to Bangkok as Nepal’s representative in the World English-language Scrabble Players Association (WESPA) Youth Cup.

From his wheelchair, he hopes to inspire thousands of people living with physical challenges like his own.