Britains Tiniest Toddlers

liam fin and Alex are Britain's tiniest toddlers they are only half the size of a typical three-year-old and will never grow much taller this unique trio were all born with a condition so rare that worldwide there are less than 150 people diagnosed they are all primordial Dwarfs there's absolutely no reason that she shouldn't do the same things are the children our age purpose falls not an issue every day is precious because this rare form of restricted growth comes with restricted life expectancy these tiny toddlers are at risk of developing life-threatening brain conditions which could strike at any time it's a silent killer there's no one and it's such a shock there won't be a second missing this is a glimpse into their miniature world as they meet new friends injure medical procedures and make their way in the world can any obstacle stand in the way of Britain's tiniest toddlers Finn Liam and Alex will always be among the smallest people in the world but this doesn't stop them having huge personalities Liam's just a star he's a whirlwind on fire totally Alex one of the most loving children you'll ever meet mischeif you wind your he's getting better every time we've seen Finn she's a little princess oh she's she's just amazing she's just a normal three-year-old but small she stands and forhc chairman's got a minor foot all these tiny toddlers have all been diagnosed with micro calf Alec osteo dysplastic primordial dwarfism type 2 more commonly referred to as MO PD type 2 it's a sub type of dwarfism where the growth delay occurs White's the babies are still in their womb at birth Alex and Finn weighed little more than two pounds she was just small but she was perfect in it in every way Liam was the heaviest but even at just over 3 pounds his size shocked his parents I could rest his head here on his that legs would come down their tiniest little thing his head was this big but it was not just their size at Birth that made these children so extraordinary born with the rarest form of dwarfism they were one in five million and part of an exclusive group they're about hundred children adolescents known in the States and they're about 12 in the UK unlike other forms of dwarfism these children's bodies will always be proportional but tiny never growing taller than 3 foot and even though Alex from Liverpool is the tallest of the trio at 30 inches his short stature is evident when he's with children his own age and it's magic about Alex what about his friends you know for weeks unfold in what Alex's h3 alex is only as tall as his 12 month old playmate how this cat is made for a three-month-old baby and whilst it won't fit one-year-old how it drowns Alex fin lives in Wrexham and is the smallest of the group at just 25 inches tall she's smaller than the average five month old baby clothes at the minute she's in naught to six months so her tights are not - six months the biggest problem to be honest is the shoes they don't make smaller than a size two I think and she's only just a size one okay good girl Liam lives in Nottingham and it almost fall he weighs the equivalent of a three-month-old baby measuring just 29 inches tall his small stature means that his mum Jo can never buy him the same clothes as his friends when Liam wanted a Power Rangers costume Jo had to get the suit specially made at twice the cost let's see then we'll solve you look fantastic Liam's best friend fintan is three months younger than him but although fintan towers above Liam this doesn't stop him doing anything his friend does he has no fear he has no fear whatsoever under the Troy he has and the ambition to do something that is gonna give such a great chance at life but life for these children is full of uncertainty and is not something their parents take for granted because this form of dwarfism comes with the threat of potentially fatal brain conditions one of main causes of concern for parents is brain aneurysms and the condition in itself called Moya Moya Moya Moya is a disease where blood vessels in the brain narrow this leads to a network of fine vessels growing to supply the brain with blood eventually the artery can become blocked which may lead to a stroke an aneurysm is a ballooning of a blood vessel in the brain which can cause the artery to weaken and burst causing a bleed into the brain both conditions can be fatal those families that we know that have had children who are sadly just dropped out the only way to detect aneurysms or moyamoya is to do an MRI scan which shows any abnormalities in the brain the risk of the children developing these brain conditions is so great they are routinely scanned it could slowly develop all four three four six months you become shots out fast The effect of an unusual can kick here in three months from now alex is having his yearly scan but lately Finn has been giving her parents cause for concern for two weeks now she's been having headaches in the morning she's been waking up with bad headaches Finn's never ever complained of headaches before I'm one of the first signs we were told to look out for for aneurysms and moyamoya is if the child says they've got a headache so instantly we're low miles are incurring Finn's MRI isn't due for another six months but a parents Mel and John are desperate for her to have a scan as soon as possible we would rather know what's going on because if there is something starting then you know that it's starting so you know what to do rather than just have your child die with no warning because that's what an aneurysm would do as they wait for an appointment for an MRI scan John and Mel face the unknown for all these children the future is uncertain but will Liam's family find hope when they meet one of the few primordial Dwarfs to make it to adulthood Britain's tiniest toddlers all have mo PD type to a rare form of dwarfism which means that their bodies will always be proportional but small this extremely rare genetic condition comes with the threat that they could develop deadly brain conditions Finn's parents have noticed some worrying signs you can't live and thank you the worst because it's going to affect then it's always on our mind but to wrap Finn up in cotton walk would not do any favors for melon John wanting to live her life to the full especially where her education is concerned like Liam and Alex Finn goes to nursery with children her own age her short stature doesn't stop her from doing anything her classmates do they make allowances that involve all the other children as well so they've made sure that they do artwork on the floor because sometimes you can't reach the easels they built a step so that she can go up she can wash your own hands although Finn knows her size means she sometimes needs help this doesn't stop her being fiercely independent if you try and help her when she doesn't want your help she gets very very angry but she's good it's you know it's great that she's so feisty but this wasn't always the case finn's come a long way since she started nursery aged just one and a half when she first started here she's very quiet she was old the lady she didn't want to play at all and she's always well by yourself really so she started then getting a few more friends and be more independent and before we know it bingo she's absolutely fine primordial dwarf children can be delayed developmentally she's hitting all the targets someone her age should oh yeah yeah which is oh it just it kind of brings home the fact that her being little doesn't matter at all Finn is only 25 inches tall and as the other children in nursery get taller Finn is becoming more self-conscious about her size she'll come home and she'll say my hands are a lot smaller than this person's hands and my shoes won't fit this person because my shoes are small she's definitely aware but I don't I wouldn't say she's unhappy hmm and she's made some really good friends and and she's she feels safe that's all you want really I think no she's always been happy I just think I think now like the last 12 months she's been more aware of her size she'd go when I'm when I'm this big when children are younger they always said okay well when I'm when I'm bigger and we don't say when you're bigger now we say when you're older rather than just trying to avoid the subject altogether in a couple of months from now Finn will be leaving the safety and security of a nursery school to start big school when Liam's family discovered that 20-year old american primordial dwarf danny is on holiday in london they are desperate to meet him as they've never met an adult with the same condition as their son it's showing us the future showing us that there is a future because at the beginning you just you don't think that there is a future really and you just like every day is one day at a time it's like another day we've got our boy and see Danny it's like our boy is going to be an adult and that's just fantastic and I'm gonna cry I'm off again your mommy's off again Wow thank you come on maybe okay here's Danny now look where he is I can see that hello pleasure to meet you Robbie Smith don't you to it absolutely football I need you think you might be available for babysitting a trip on the London Eye will allow the families time to see the sights whilst getting to know each other we're off although Danny has gone through puberty he has a high-pitched voice a characteristic shared by primordial dwarves age 20 Danny wears clothes and shoes that are designed for a four year old he weighs just over three and a half stone and is just 40 inches tall I've never had my size become a big problem and not all my friends know I've had really good friends that have been shutting me for who I am being small the parents also want to know this he reached his full height right around 12 years old 14 soul doesn't brought much that's Danny when he was a little boy you can submit like you doesn't that's not you Danny don't even look like you have a big dude for graduation at a big dance did you he wants to date it's difficult of course because you know a lot of the girls that he is with see him as friend as a friend my girlfriend yeah that's me told Danny how many girlfriends you go how many girlfriends through Wow be honest I was already developed me honey I thought that I had an interconnected how big a lien is going to get I was a bit apprehensive of making that me because I don't have because of me I've met children optically she would live like a grown man and to look at Danny and him super ears and what I what he's after she's here it's been a tough tough road dog you see Danny and he looks really happy everything's great but you know there's always gonna be a million little things along the way where you know the first time his friends get a date and they're all going out on a date he doesn't have a date goes over they'll inherit if you go through puberty the chance is open grown after that is next to normal yeah and we did we did growth hormone we did you know all sorts of different things to try to help him grow but you know just none of it was really working I think the particulars of this syndrome are such that there's really nothing at this point that they can do always crane boys cream break another side effect of primordial dwarfism is that many children have difficulty feeding Liam has never had any problems but since they were babies both Finn and Alex were fed through ports into their stomachs now Finn is older she eats but Alex still doesn't it is stressful our Alex doesn't eat or drink and stuff like that even though we know he's allowed solids because he's never had a when he does have a little go sometimes he does chew he's had a crisp before and he's choked on the tiny little piece of crisps today he's having a barium swallow diagnostic x-ray to investigate if there is a physical reason he's not eating of choice Alex will be fed solids and fluids containing barium which will be visible on an x-ray so that the radiologists can see exactly what happens when he eats or drinks Alex has developed an aversion to having anything put in his mouth so being force-fed is extremely distressing for him go laughs Oh get it aired in the past a lot of procedures he's added on as being more life-threatening than anything uh this is just a procedure of him getting upset more than anything but the outcome could be brilliance as much as he put things to his mouth we need them to start trying it ESET search will cut this one yeah does he go down okay went down the road we've never done gotten to do about you know what I mean God is - absolutely alex is getting more and more distressed but although the radiologist knows the solids went down well he still needs to check whether Alex can swallow fluids yeah that's good you're really good swollen that word does that obviously prove that he does have a swollen reflux yeah cool I'm so impressed and for the first time in three and a half years I've just seen the song swallow I'll be from a fair perspective good boy I liked water did you have a drink enjoy life the tests have proved there's no physiological reason why Alex shouldn't be eating or drinking it's been a good day for the Cana teas in London Liam and Danny are playing when strange is asked to take a photograph of Danny whilst Danny and his dad are happy for the photo to be taken Lum Monica even finds this positive attention difficult when people ask to take a picture of Dan it just is overwhelming for me makes me very uncomfortable I'll go home at night and cry Danny kind of stands out more because he's older I'm saying Danny was getting a lot more looks and people want the for grouse with Danny but that's what that's what's gonna happen towards in the future yeah Liam just looks like probably a mature baby yes people are going to point sometimes people are gonna say silly or cruel things sometimes you've got to learn to be thick-skinned about those things the other option which is sort of staying at home all the time and not going out in public it's not a really pretty option either okay lovely to see is off thank you very much thank you very much over in Liverpool Alex's parents also want to meet other people with the same condition as their son but they want to do it on a bigger scale by organising the UK's first primordial dwarf convention in their hometown right soon we've got some weeks for convention we need to establish what top stands and I've got one two three four five I've got six four arms back our aims for this for our convention is bringing everyone together getting the families together for the kids to realize that they're not alone someone out there they're so excited to actually meet somebody else who's in the same sort like boat as their and as such really want to make it special for the families don't wanna disappoint them it's just that the whole thing is just an absolute massive stress those have good you know Sue and John feel under immense pressure as they need to raise money to make this convention happen Robbie and Joe also want to help so the two families get together to try to raise money at a local fund a doing them fundraising events can be surprisingly stressful it can be very hard work but if we don't do it if we don't do it our children will be growing up on their own it's not just about bringing money in it's about getting the awareness out there since Alex was diagnosed we had quite a few negative things said to us about Alex about this size it got to the stage where one day I'd been to a mother and toddler group and two children were just to me really quite nasty trying to hit Alex in the face laughs and Adam when John come home from warehouse hours just crying and I just cried all my after - John we need to turn this round we need to start letting people understand the condition and federal four people stayed and federal four people talking under the breaths look at that little boy and this that and you're there so from there that's where we started doing awareness programs we bring Alex and long so that people confusional II see what these children are all about Finn's parents are still anxiously waiting for a brain scan but in the meantime they have to prepare themselves for another milestone in her life Finn's first day at big school Britain's tiniest toddlers were all born with the rarest form of dwarfism M OPD type - even though they are living in a world that is too big for them they don't let anything stand in their way three year old Finn is due to start school but she's so small that she can only wear clothes that fit a six-month-old baby but Finn's parents are adamant that she will have a uniform just like her classmates no parent would ever think of sending an average-height child to school in jeans when there was a school uniform so why should we why exactly why should she have to be any different we thought we'll put the feelers out see if anybody can help and maybe make a jumper and a cardi because there's nowhere we could buy that and we'd have to make us fighters dressmaker to to make that a local school uniform supplier has agreed to specially make thin her uniform and to do that within what three weeks and to come back with a whole uniform to last a year just brilliant today Finn gets to try on her bespoke uniform everything ready for it here great Hey look you guys Special Forces and they love you little dress but shall I try these on you tell Cho taxi what you think thumbs up on up Troy I'll star in it like the others versus it's great she's at school I'm missing me for everything why are you happy all very very thank you in less than a month Finn will be starting school but for Alex's parents a big day is also looming in a couple of weeks John and Sue hope to stage the UK's first primordial dwarf convention there's a lot of hard work being put in and they're still gosh there's still an awful lot of hardware to be put in to actually pull this convention off John has a full-time job I'm a full-time carer for Alex as always my ready for the house it is nightmare it is hard where charity Alex trying to bounce them can become a nightmare logistical II and Alex to take a lot of what's imal if the convention is going to happen it'll need sue and John's full attention this weekend to finalize plans but caring for Alex is a 24-hour job so for the next two days he will be staying at Clair house which provides round-the-clock care for children okay do you want to come to me Alex we're cool although he is a regular visitor here it doesn't make parting any easier you're gonna say Phi Beta mummy should buy behind Chile to give me feel I need to the later scone mmm okay you take care okay you be good see later bye bye Oh you'll be okay I just hate leaving him oh I know he's in a great place and I know he absolutely loves it when he's there but it's just the fact there will even remember sometimes for like he thinks she get on won the benefit Jim benefit sauce yeah one thing about it is Alex doesn't have a good sleeping partner tall you can be up most of the night at least now we might be busy right through the day and shattered but at least when we go to bed the night hopefully we are sleep know me I'll probably wake off and start thinking about them unfold to see how he's doing we do have a better time for ourselves born this occasion more so than anything it will be charity work or the convention in two weeks three weeks time so we still got loads to finalize on that so it is going to be busy busy busy in wrexham finn is still waiting for an MRI scan to investigate if the headache she's been suffering with lately are being caused by a brain aneurysm a condition associated with MO PD type 2 but there's another side effect there can be abnormalities in the location and size of the kidneys today Finn's having an ultrasound which parents John and mal are hoping will reveal her renal organs are normal so we're going to have a look with this jelly and have a look and see what we can see inside saying squeal wow that's the jelly don't to feel it mm-hmm so if that's what we need to do is if they're indeed real my area where I'd expect them to be it has a lot cream on it okay now there we go so this is the right kidney this is her liver here okay and this is the right kidney and this looks structurally perfectly normal to me measure the length of the kidney that's five point three centimeters and obviously that's smaller than I'd expect for her age so they are smaller yeah but she's small yeah there's no cysts and they're in the right location so that's quite reassuring it's any question so it's been a good day for Finn and her parents back in liverpool alex is at nursery although he has learning difficulties his parents feel that interacting with children his own age will help his development alex is a very happy little boy he comes in state away ever more honor always got a big smile on his face that are certain things that we have to adapt for Alex when he comes out in the garden I always making sure a member of staff is living in case he's knocked over by another child but it's at lunchtime the nursery has to make the most allowances cause he hasn't been able to eat food or drink fluids he's always been fed through a tube with Tony witch's milk the moment I'm trying to get him to eat food it was mouth while we're still freezing at the same time with his tube when Matilda first saw them getting fed through is to do look at otherwise does Alex get fed Luis - and then we just explains what do you start out face I'd love them to be able to up and drink shopping I'd love them to be able to eat there should be no reason why he's not eatin drinkin and enjoy more normal three-year-old children just get all - with food and drink you let your fingers it plays with it more so that actually at the moment because he just likes to feel it this fingers it's more exploratory at the moment and he is making progress every day you though you can eat the rest of your vegetables or it's a momentous day for Finn and her parents as today she starts school um we got put uniform on in a minute Wow could you got where he's call you the phone bro cuz that's the rules well I'm not sure if he's nervous or excited to be honest and I'm excited that she's going cuz she's she's ready to go I think she's gonna be happy in school skirt or dress for any parent their child's first day at school can be daunting but as Finn is only as tall as a nine month old baby dad John also has the worry that Finn might be the center of unwanted attention I was in a bit sicky last night wondering you know how the other kids are going to be with us today they're going to be curious and rightly so so II just imagine there might be want to see questions and it's really how thin is going to react to that so she should be okay she's gonna let go and say there you go Phin may be smaller than the other children but her parents wanted to face her first day of school on her own just like her classmates she didn't want to go in at first she was a bit hesitant and she didn't look as comfortable as she did in nursery but then she's not gonna because it's more new you're like oh oh she said there will place it just feels different there's no baby anymore yeah I think that's hard it is six hours later and after a great first day at school Finn rushes home to play with her best friend Ellie I'm glad she's happy I'm glad she's coming and she's happy to play and she's getting changed and everything's normal you're a brave girl girl oh great people were surrounding it at one point but at least they cleared that up um explain to all children not to pick her up which is good the biggest relief is that no one seems to have asked any horrible questions or asks any questions she couldn't answer or made her feel uncomfortable or different the day of the walking with Giants Convention has finally dawned and 14 families from all over the UK and America have congregated in Liverpool because it's a safe environment because everybody knows and understands everybody else it's just really comfortable and it's it's just nice you can just go in and everybody's on the same wavelength about things they need to know when what they want to find out and and the kids can just go off and play you cannot put into words how important it is for these children to socialize with each other and for us to socialize with it with the parents you just want to talk small you understands what you're going through someone who's being there whose bed and all the grief all the concerns if we should set a floor with your problems with each other if we gain answers for some families at the convention the answer they are looking for is a diagnosis the families with children that's not got a diagnosis or who's been told that they're not mo PT but they may have another form of unknown proportionate short stature one try and reach out to them well because persons not MLP Zissou should we shut the doors on them should we pull the shutters sir definitely not one of the undiagnosed children is 14 month old Charlotte who weighs less than six pounds and measures only 20 inches primordial dwarf Kennedy is five and known around the world as the real Thumbelina she was believed to be the smallest primordial dwarf in the world but she was twice the way to Charlotte at birth Charlotte's mom Emma shares her experiences with other mums this is your fat first time of meeting a group of people together this year our VA alder felt watts watch your feelings up to now Seth it's nice to feel included to feel that you were not on your own you're not alone that's what we want to try and get it whatever is feeling to not feel alone though yeah when you eat when you are in an unknown situation you do not know what they have it's very hard to try and get on with life and as a normal person because you're always held back by the what interests yeah books have some things like Emma is desperate for a diagnosis but she knows that if Charlotte does have mo PD type 2 she may already have developed brain aneurysms these can only be detected through an MRI scan but to get a scan she needs a diagnosis another mum Allison knows exactly how Emma feels as her son wraith has been told that he won't be eligible for any more brain scans as he is undiagnosed and therefore not considered at risk it's no answers all these questions yeah and especially the other thing is as well about the aneurysms you know the scans he have to have and you know beers doesn't have to have anymore and that's going to be a fight they are not the only parents with worries Finn has recently shown signs that she could have developed a life-threatening brain condition and she's still waiting for a scan which could save her life for Britain's tiniest toddlers one of the biggest obstacles they have to face is the risk that they may have developed an aneurysm a bulging of blood vessels in the brain if the aneurysm was to burst it could lead to a stroke it could lead to being completely paralyzed it could lead to the West's death it's a silent killer there's no Warner Bank it's a crucial week for Alex and Finn as they are both going to have an MRI scan which can detect tiny changes within the brain and is one of the safest ways to discover the presence of abnormalities alex is first I think you go into it just hoping that it's going to come back clear again I think it's at the back of our minds that the copy' something there but we haven't really gone into conversation over that have we you know you don't want to think about you want to stay positive but when you got to think about a situation like that things more bearable for Sue and John it will be a few weeks before they get Alex's results a couple of days later it's Finn's turn to have a scam over the last three months her parents Mel and John have been extremely worried because Finn has had symptoms that could be a sign that she has developed a brain condition obviously if it out for ensive about the scanned for the results because they had eight she's still getting them on and off and it's been maybe three four months now so last time when we had it last year that she's never had headache she was fine it was just a routine but this time it's a bit more of a worry I tell you what we got to see a lady and then you can come with me and we'll find you three chocolate biscuits okay and a breakaway early Kitka the fiend for four children now around Finn's age they've had either an aneurysm aneurysms or moyamoya and in some cases needed corrective surgery now if it's aneurysms then there are certain places in the brain which are inoperable that's the thing you just got to kind of deal with what it happens after 45 minutes Finn's brain scan is completed and as the anesthetic wears off she is reunited with her parents she's been finding problems oh hello let's sit you up a little bit we go oh that's gonna come out in a bit guilty that something like that for a minute darling it was good news brilliant but obviously I'm a bit worried about being bad news this time it will be a fortnight until they get the results but in Nottingham the Smith family have also been eagerly awaiting an important day to arrive Liam's birthday Wow there we go it's got a badge on it what's the number you know what that number is what's this big number that many oh good boy that is that how old you are today Liam's dressed up ready for his party every child's birthday is a special day but as a primordial dwarf each year is a major milestone as many mo PD type 2 children don't make it to adulthood gentlemen stay tuned up myself into about his first day at nursery I was terrified to take him to nursery because I just had it in my head but you know what if he was even lastest and I went there to hold his hand cuz we just didn't know how long I was here for good way though and now he's four and I'm starting to think about when is the teenager and how we're gonna cope with this and what kind of a teenager is he gonna be like he's so determined now for parents Robbie and Joe they have learnt to be positive about Liam's future when lien was first diagnosed and I thought that's it we'll never leave home and now why not why not he could have other houses adapted for him lien will have a job name we'll drive a car lien will fulfill his education obviously I think you will have health issues along the way or we'll have to deal with them when you call some barrels never something I want to think about like I've been something I want to think about it won't be a second didn't miss no leave me there's no point getting upset he's fine now that's the main thing we're good for today he's fine today cross that bridge when we come to it two three four good form it's only year nail to your necks but they are not the only family with something to celebrate alex has received the results of his brain scan and he has not developed any life-threatening brain conditions he's overcome so much in his life in the short space time they're lost in a couple of times and he's always bounce back it's as if he said not was gonna defeat me there's also good news for Finn - as no abnormality showed up with her brain scale brilliant because hopefully throughout the whole of a life she's just going to be the same as everybody else her age so it's one less thing fur to worry about the britain's tiniest toddlers the future will no doubt involve each other the kids are going to grow up friends then they can talk to each other when they get older say how they're feeling and stuff like that such as greece they may be destined to be some of the smallest people in the world but that won't stop them doing whatever they want and that includes deciding when filming is over

Channel: Dave Smith

Views: 445,637

Rating: 4.7790451 out of 5

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Id: H6wo1oXD86g

Length: 45min 13sec (2713 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 18 2013