SINGAPORE - India Rose Eaton is only seven years old, but she has already endured six operations on her right leg to mend fractures that had developed spontaneously and were present at birth.

While her friends in school run, jump and dance, India, better known as Indy, is able to join them but has to wear a leg brace, known as an ankle foot orthosis (AFO), to support her right leg and protect it from injury.

She suffers from a rare condition called congenital pseudarthrosis (CPT), which occurs in one out of 250,000 births.

This makes the tibia bone in her right leg prone to injury, and fractures are unable to heal by themselves, unlike in healthy bones.

Indy has worked on a book with illustrations to educate others about the condition.

CPT prevents her from walking long distances. There are limits to how far she can run, and how high she can jump, as high-impact activities could cause her bone to fracture again.

"Indy has always loved ballet. When she was about three years old, there was a period of time when her leg was doing well and she didn't have to wear an AFO," said her mother, Mrs Andrea Eaton, 46, who added that Indy attended ballet lessons for a short period of time.

In the past few years, however, due to complications from the operations and the effect on her leg, this has not been possible, added Mrs Eaton, a project manager in software company Avaloq.

Indy was diagnosed with CPT when she was around one year old, when her parents noticed she was not walking.

At around three months old, she was also diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), a genetic disorder often associated with CPT, where tumours form on nerves in the body. These present as brown spots on her skin.

She enrolled in EtonHouse Pre-school in Mountbatten Road at age four.

Indy found people were asking her about her leg brace.

She did not know how to respond to such questions. Her concerns did not go unnoticed at the pre-school.

In September 2021, her final year in the pre-school, Ms Josephyne Ho, 52, senior principal of EtonHouse Pre-School, proposed a picture book to help her explain her condition to her new friends.

Ms Ho would write the story, while Indy, who loves to draw, would illustrate it.

In November 2021, the children's book, titled Indy's Diary, was released as an e-book. A month later, 100 physical copies of Indy's Diary were printed, with support from EtonHouse Community Fund, a charity affiliated with the pre-school.

Coupled with Indy's colourful illustrations and pictures of her at school and with her family, the book explains what CPT and NF1 are, and offers words of encouragement to those who are in similar situations.

"It felt good (to work on the book)," said Indy, now a Primary 1 pupil at CHIJ (Katong) Primary School. "It was exciting and I had fun because I could show others my drawings."

While the initial goal of writing Indy's Diary was so that Indy would be able to answer questions her new friends might have about her leg, Ms Ho saw the book as an opportunity for her to lend Indy a voice to tell her story to the world.

Working on the book made Indy see her condition in a positive light and helped her overcome her fear of making new friends.

Her teacher read her book to her Primary 1 class at the start of the school year, and a copy of the book now sits on the shelf of her class library.

"(The book went from) helping Indy to cope to celebrating Indy and her positivity," said Ms Ho.

Although her bone has mended since an operation last year and she is now mobile, Indy is required to wear her leg brace to school every day.

Despite this, the bubbly girl is upbeat.

Writing the book gave Indy more confidence to explain her condition, said Indy's father, Mr Danny Eaton, 55, a manager at technology company Cloudflare. "It drives away her apprehension."

Indy's parents, who have an elder son, 11, are also grateful that the book helps spark conversations and raise awareness about NF1 and CPT.

"Indy is brave because she didn't cry even when she had many operations," said Chow Yiyi, six, one of Indy's pre-school schoolmates who read the book.

The book can be purchased on EtonHouse Community Fund's website for $19.90. Its proceeds will fund activities organised by the charity for vulnerable children and families.