Samantha Hayes reporting

If you've ever broken your arm or ankle, you know how painful it can be. So imagine what life would be like if your bones broke easily and often.

That's what people who have brittle bone disease live with, and it's especially disheartening in children.

But now, after years of testing, a drug is showing promising results for children at Shriner's Hospital.

The one thing you want to do as a kid is play. Run. Jump. And horse around. But imagine if that wasn't part of your life growing up.

Britney Cosby/ Shriner's Hospital patient: "You see the other kids doing all of those things and you can't do it."

Britney Cosby's bones are weak and break easily. Doctors aren't sure of her diagnosis, but fortunately there's a drug that seems to help.

Dr. Lisa Samson-Fang, Pediatrician: "It doesn't cure the disease, but we do feel it reduces the fracture rate."

The drug is called Pamidronate. Shriner's Hospital first studied the drug in 1999 in children with Osteogenesis Imperfecta- or brittle bone disease. It was so effective in increasing bone density that doctors opened up the treatment program.

Now 30 chidren come to Shriner's Hospital, including nine-month-old Izabella Wilson.

Matt Wilson, father:"When she was born she had numerous fractures coming out of the birth canal, fractured ankle, fractured wrist, fractured ribs. We didn't know this until she broke her first bone, which was her leg."

Doctors alerted Child and Family Services before realizing Izabella had this disease, just like her father.

Matt: "I've broken 27 bones, numerous fractures, numerous surgeries."

But Pamidronate wasn't available when Matt Wilson was a child.

Matt: "Back then, 15 years ago, there was nothing really they [doctors] could do for us. [They] recommended calcium pills, but even that didn't do the job."

He's hoping these relatively new treatments will make a difference in his daughter's life.

Matt: "Hopefully this will prevent breaks and fractures for her."

Children are treated over a couple of days every two to four months. There is no charge for that at Shriner's Hosptial.