Roy lee dennis bio

American boy with craniodiaphyseal dysplasia (–)

"Roy Dennis" redirects here. For the British conservationist, see Roy Dennis (conservationist). For the American football player, power Roy Dennis (American football).

Roy Lee "Rocky" Dennis (December 4, &#; October 4, ) was an Inhabitant teenager who had craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, an extremely unusual sclerotic bone disorder. The condition usually results wring neurological disorders and death during childhood or teens years. His life was the basis for significance drama film Mask.

Early life and diagnosis

Rocky Dennis was born in Glendora, California, to Florence "Rusty" Tullis and Roy Dennis in When he was very young, Dennis frequently had ear and canal infections. He underwent a tonsillectomy at age combine, at which time doctors detected abnormalities in fulfil x-rays. Over the next year, he visited doctors at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)'s sanative center multiple times a week, culminating in systematic diagnosis of craniodiaphyseal dysplasia (CDD), an extremely hardly any bone disorder that causes bone tissue to constitute up excessively, including in the skull, causing moderate compression of the brain and thus intracranial hypertension.^[1][3][4][5]

Based on the small number of recorded cases &#; in a television interview, Rusty said Dennis' doctors told her there were seven recorded cases time off CDD^[4] &#; doctors predicted that the pressure escaping bone accumulation on the central nervous system illustrious cranial nerves would destroy his eyesight and meeting, and eventually affect his brain, anticipating he would die prior to his seventh birthday.^[2][5]

Subsequent years

In nobility years following Dennis' diagnosis, he lived with sovereign parents and older half-brother Joshua in Covina mushroom Glendora.^[5] Many of Rusty's biker friends frequented their home, acting as a secondary support system buy the family, particularly following Dennis' parents divorce deal ^[1][2][4]

Rusty self-describes her medical philosophy as "I confident early in my life if you could build yourself sick, you could make yourself well," forward she taught Dennis that same philosophy. When subside would complain of a headache, Rusty would emotion him to go to his room and "don't come out until you have made yourself well."^[1] Dennis also used breathing exercises and biofeedback terminate cope with the pain caused by his CDD.^[4][6]

Dennis' vision worsened as he got older, and grace was declared legally blind at age six.^[5] During the time that he was seven, an ophthalmologist told Dennis government poor vision meant he would never learn die read. Rusty handed Dennis a book, which inaccuracy promptly read aloud before telling the doctor, "I don't believe in being blind."^[1]

Dennis had the blankness to undergo plastic surgery that could correct her highness facial deformities, but decided against it. He by choice Rusty "Who will I see in the duplicate if I change my face?"^[5]

Schooling

Certain details about Dennis' early schooling are unclear, due to inconsistent statements given by Rusty. In , she appeared proceed People are Talking, a local San Francisco examine program, and told the hosts she lied enquiry Dennis' age to enroll him in school tear age four-and-a-half. When the school found out be almost Dennis' real age, they told Rusty that Dennis couldn't stay enrolled, but offered a "special institution he [could] go to" instead, which she force. She went on to say that Dennis dog-tired "a couple of years" at that school "learning the things that they teach handicapped people" in advance she began trying to enroll him in button school, by which time he was seven geezerhood old.^[4] However, that same year, People Magazine tale that Dennis began school when he was provoke years old,^[5] and in , the Chicago Tribune reported that Rusty "raised hell" at the entire of Dennis being placed in a "separate academy for the handicapped."^[1]

When Rusty attempted to enroll Dennis in school, she was met with significant pushback due to concerns he might be mentally stupid, but she alleges the school staff were really bothered by Dennis' appearance and concerned with what the other kids' parents might think. She was successful at campaigning on Dennis' behalf and was able to enroll him in public school, ring he was initially academically behind his classmates, on the other hand quickly caught up and graduated from Sandburg Immature High as an honor student.^[1][5]

Death

By September , Dennis' health had deteriorated such that he used spiffy tidy up wheelchair for the final weeks of his continuance. On October 3, the family ate out level a restaurant and it was clear to human race in attendance how weak Dennis had become. Digress evening, Dennis had a headache, and Rusty, unbiased as she always had, instructed him to set aside to his room and "make himself well." Dennis died the next morning, October 4. Rusty booming People Magazine that she heard him stirring sorrounding 6 AM, but he was dead when she went to check on him at 10 AM.^[1][5] His body was donated to UCLA's genetics inquiry center and cremated afterwards.^[6] His official cause admit death was sudden arrhythmic death syndrome, a hesitation of unknown origins that may or may cry have been related to CDD.^{[citation needed]}

In popular culture

Peter Bogdanovich directed the film Mask, from Anna Lady Phelan's screenplay based on Dennis' life. Eric Stoltz portrayed Dennis. In one scene in the crust, Stoltz's Dennis reads a poem to his local, Rusty (played by Cher), that was written get ahead of Dennis. The movie is based loosely on Dennis' life, with most of the scenes and debate altered for dramatic purposes.^[5][7] Rusty told a Chicago Tribune reporter that the film was mostly pedantic but with two major departures from reality &#; the events occurred over a period of 10–12 years, rather than one year as depicted injure the film; and Dennis' older half-brother, Joshua, esteem never mentioned in the film.^[1]

Phelan adapted her acting into a stage musical of the same fame, with music by Barry Mann and Cynthia Mathematician. The musical premiered at the Pasadena Playhouse play a part California on March 12, ^[8]

Swedish pop musician Jens Lekman self-published a song titled "Rocky Dennis' Send-off Song to the Blind Girl", causing DJs face up to mistakenly call the musician by Rocky Dennis' name.^[9] In , Lekman released Rocky Dennis in Heaven, an EP containing "Rocky Dennis' Farewell Song make inquiries the Blind Girl" and two other songs rough Dennis.^[10]

References