Cameron Mathison’s 1st Memory Is Heartbreaking

Getty Images Cameron Mathison talks debilitating bone disease.

Hallmark star Cameron Mathison opened up about a diagnosis that changed his life when he was younger. On the July 22 episode of the “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans” podcast, Mathison spoke candidly about Legg Calve Perthes disease.

“I was diagnosed with the degenerative bone disease. I had to wear a big metal A-frame brace on my legs for four years, night and day,” he told Cheryl Burke on her podcast.

“It was, think of like Forrest Gump, but he could walk in his. Mine was way out and it was rigid. And I had a crutch in back and a crutch in front. I had to lift myself up and swing forward and land and then move my crutches and lift up and swing. That’s how I would walk,” he added.

He told Burke that the very first memory from his childhood happened following his doctor’s appointment.

“I remember my mom coming out of the doctor’s office with tears in her eyes. That’s my first memory,” he said.

Mathison was diagnosed at the age of 2. He wore the aforementioned braces until he was 7.

Cameron Mathison Had Legg Calve Perthes Disease in Both Hips

According to the Mayo Clinic, Legg Calve Perthes is a childhood disease that occurs when “blood supply to the ball part (femoral head) of the hip joint” to be “temporarily interrupted,” which causes the bone to die.

There are a variety of symptoms that kids with the disease showcase, including limping, “pain or stiffness in the hip, groin, thigh, or knee, [and] limited range of motion of the hip joint.”

“This weakened bone gradually breaks apart and can lose its round shape. The body eventually restores blood supply to the ball, and the ball heals,” the Mayo Clinic reports.

There are a variety of ways that doctors can treat a patient with Legg Calve Perthes, but for Mathison, both of his legs were in braces.

Cameron Mathison Was Bullied Due to the Braces He Had to Wear on His Legs

During his conversation with Burke on “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans,” Mathison said that he was bullied as a kid.

“I was, you know, carried into bed and I had to sleep with it, which was by the way, the hardest part. And the only time it came off when I was lowered in the bath, you know, like put into the bath and then I was sort of put back in this brace,” he explained.

“You know, those are very formative years. I was the guy that mothers would tell their kids not to stare at,” he continued, adding, “I was bullied. I was made fun of. You know, we all have our history. We all have our childhood stuff that like sticks with us. That’s definitely mine.”

In 2009, Mathison’s parents discussed their son’s health struggles. His father admitted that Mathison didn’t have an easy time during those years of his life due to the bullying.

“Initially, it was difficult because everyone looked at him. And it became an emotional thing for him,” Bill Mathison said on “Good Morning America.”

Cameron Mathison went on to make a full recovery. In 2022, he shared a photo of himself wearing the leg braces in an effort to raise awareness for the rare disease.

Although he didn’t have an easy time, the actor learned a lot from it.

“I’m grateful for the experience now. Super grateful for the experience. I think it’s made me a lot more compassionate towards others, a lot more sensitive and empathetic,” he said on “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans.”

READ NEXT: Cameron Mathison Shares Big Cancer Update 5 Years After Diagnosis