The Smallest People in the World | (Extraordinary Humans Documentary) | Only Human

there are nearly 200 types of dwarfism and the smallest most proportionate Dwarfs are called primordial his arms were like my fingers they I mean just the proportion itself I mean you're you're looking at this child but everything is just miniaturized his toes and you're like how can toes be this little [Music] questions I asked the doctor were can she have a baby you know little girl things that all girls want to know and they said to me with the size that she'll continue to stay if she would get pregnant it would probably kill her [Music] you do the school today nothing yeah [Music] can you make a piggy noise [Music] you do can you make a horse noise good dog noise can you make a dog noise can you make a cow joys [Music] [Music] [Applause] sixteen years ten years old 16 pounds and a little bit over two feet Bree is one of the smallest primordial Dwarfs in the world Michael primordial her heart lungs and other organs are completely proportionate inside her tiny body she was delivered at 33 weeks by c-section just a minute little person I pounded 12 ounces 800 grams and 12 and a half inches long they really leaned towards putting her in an institution and not bringing her home why did you not think that that was the right thing to do I was her mother and I loved her regardless regardless of how sick she was or what she could or couldn't do and I still didn't feel like they knew everything [Music] primordial means fundamental existing at or from the beginning primordial Dwarfs are so rare that most doctors have never seen one in their lifetime no one knows what recessive gene or chromosome causes the syndrome its origins are predestined from the first moments in the womb but consequently they are born and often live shrouded in mystery do you ever wish you were a little bit taller primordial Dwarfs are characterized by severely restricted growth proportionate limbs and high-pitched squeaky voices most died by the time they are 30 there is no cure and rarely do they grow beyond 3 foot 6 inches my family all were certain that she would get bigger they were in denial that she was going to stay small and that she would be little forever I mean they believed that eventually she'd catch up she may be smaller than most people but she would catch up to a normal height how did you feel at this moment in your life pretty isolated and overwhelmed you feel like you failed you know and you're trying to pick that up you know you're trying to make the best of something that you're not sure what that is I suppose when we have our babies were prime for perfection only society is [Music] for the family they are born into the questions are many how did this happen what problems will they face medically and socially can they have children and how long will they live the answers that the doctors give is that they just don't know [Applause] [Music] [Applause] lovely to see you this is Steve hi good to meet you and this is Mark hey guys how was your day at school [Music] the first time I ever heard dwarf mentioned was when he was eight months old and that was after they did I had him hospitalized for a week the pediatrician said well we've got to figure out what's going on here and they did chromosome Studies on him and hormone studies on him and everything and everything pretty much came out normal and they said the words they use this this is his constitution this is the way he's meant to be he's a dwarf and I can remember not even being able to say the word I used to practice at home dwarf dwarfism he's a dwarf because I couldn't say it I could not say it I said this is so I remember trying to tell my in-laws and my family and friends you know well he's a dwarf and I could not get the words out because all I could think of is Snow White in the Seven Dwarfs that's all kyle is Danny's best friend [Music] at 14 he's two years younger than Danny [Music] that's a hard thing to do everyone started no one can ever do it I mean that takes incredible upper body's things because I've been climbing so many like times oh no nope now up and down for my entire life and it kind of opens get what I want what about when he was say 5 to 9 what were the challenges that he was fearless you know you would come into the kitchen and literally he would be on top of the refrigerator oh yeah get something and you'd be like dad what are you doing well how did you get up there in the first place and you know you know get down after a while we kind of got used to it and it wasn't but then we go to school and these teachers would be like oh he's climbing the bookcases yeah yeah see that's what always scared me is remember the time he did the bureau upstairs the other him and Katie yeah and he pulled it pulled the drawers out and then like trying to walk up like it's steps and the drawer the whole bureau started to come over and you think well if it had come over on him that might be it primordial Dwarfs are often not diagnosed until they're five years old until then many of them will have received growth hormone in the mistaken belief that this will make them taller does it harm him to put growth hormone into him well there can certainly be side effects to growth hormone so you could get enlarged hearts heart muscles and things like that I mean so why even take a chance why go down that road I mean and I'll tell you it was very to support a little kid I had to give him a needle every day that's when you cry oh and you would cry because he would cry baby cry please don't give it please don't do don't do it don't I don't want to allow on it and then you'd have to give it to him anyway it's horrible the growth hormone had no effect on Danny you know it was such a trial by error there we got absolutely conflicting opinions on what they thought and they and that's again part of the genesis of me realizing these people don't know everything you know they're not God they're not not that they're bad people but you know they're offering their opinion doesn't mean make it true [Music] go [Music] we had actually been told that you had a 20% chance of having another child that would be affected in any kind of a genetic disorder but when I got pregnant with Bradley Bridget wasn't officially diagnosed with the dwarfism that she has you pray for him to be big and you pray for him to be little because if they're little then Bridget has someone to be with and if they're big then their their lives are so much easier so it's like a double-edged sword what's it like being a primordial dwarf cool keep it on very well with your sister breathe she seems very sweet to me [Applause] is he much stronger than you do you feel responsible for him so when you walk along with him what are you thinking [Music] [Applause] [Music] yeah [Music] how are you feeling today look good and why is that do not you know is it because we're here did you have a good day at school what happened at school yep then when she comes home on the bus crying because somebody called her a baby or a suppose friend will say you're too small to do that you can't do that those are really the hard things and then we just have to sit in and hug and you know it's gonna be okay huh [Music] when Hannah was adopted by Jackie at four months she had been labeled as a failure to thrive baby at two years she weighed just nine pounds but for years she was diagnosed as a primordial dwarf I felt alone I didn't know that there was over 200 types of dwarfism Zoar what's gonna happen with the particular syndrome that she had I really just felt alone although I had loved ones around me I had my husband my family I still felt incredibly alone because I'm her mom and I don't know what I'm dealing with zahana we were saying you were telling us tell us how tall you are nothing you're nothing why do you say you're nothing nothing she knows she's different yes you know on her tenth birthday we had her birthday party down at the Country Inn and it was a poolside and I invited ten little girls of her friends from school or nine of them she'd be the tenth one and what I saw was all the average-sized children in the pool all about the same height in a circle and Hannah knew she couldn't be there because she'd be underwater so she would sit out when the other children were doing the activities that normal ten-year-old kids did and it broke my heart okay show us your teeth what do you think about your teeth there are a lot of times where she'll say I want to be tall like my friends and then I would just say this is the way you're going to be you're gonna be small and you know it's gonna be life for you it's gonna be hard a lot of times for a lot of things but what do you say [Music] [Music] turn as much as you can you know this way dad I wish you just [Music] but primordial Dwarfs the transition to independence as an adult has to be taken step-by-step what do you think you'll be doing in the next few years hopefully finishing my college degree driving of course getting a license and you know getting a job I've only had maybe two people out of the whole time I've known her think that she was my daughter and that was one person that was walking in the store and then there was a lady at a restaurant so do they say to you well the lady at the restaurant we told Kristin that she wants my daughter cuz kids ate for free that day so we just decided to tell it was her idea though it wasn't mine it was her idea which I was really surprised so Kristin if you have to pretend to be a kid how old do you say you are when they look at me sometimes they think I'm like 6 or 7 years old maybe yeah cuz that's your normal height for like damn or or like a three or four year old sometimes Kristin's older brother Kevin was also a primordial dwarf he died 18 months ago what did your brother died off aneurysm a brain oh yeah and how old was he hmm 24 actually I thought our house was haunted like a couple days after he died I thought I was being watched and every time I'd fall asleep on one way I'd feel somebody tugging on my blanket and I would always hear music coming from next door and could see an apparition or something running up the stairs and so we really thought that our house was haunted what do you miss most about him just essence of him he went as old as he was he would come up to me and say he'd say come here mom and he put his arms up and he'd give me a hug he says we both need a hug or he needs a hug or I need a hug he was never embarrassed to do that and the night he died he gave me a backrub Kristen found him on the sidewalk he was like looking at the Stars kind of leaning back looking at the Stars and I thought he was playing a prank on me because he does that now and again and when I found him he wasn't breathing we knew we could get him to emergency quicker than calling 9-1-1 so I drove Mike held him and I ran in with him and then they had to put him into it a medically induced coma he had beautiful eyes those eyes would say why why didn't you let me go twice I said to him if what you see is better than what you have here on earth I'll let you go and we turned the Machine off he was gone within what 20 seconds 25 seconds one third of primordial Dwarfs died at birth one third in their childhood and the rest rarely live longer than their late twenties how is Kristen without him I don't know she right now thinks he's haunted the house did she tell you because all of a sudden this kid who never who used to love to sleep in the dark the darker it could be the better she liked it sleeping with a lay down in her bedroom I said honey if he's back cuz his spirits in the house I used it back to hurt you are you worried about Kristen yeah [Music] being a child is safe and growing up is risky and you know you you saw Dan's room he has stuffed animals on his bed he has you know toys around that you would say were more age-appropriate to someone who's between the ages of six and nine let's say then for someone who's 16 and a lot of that is that it's safe it's safe to be six years old it's safe to not grow up [Applause] do you think he'll still be living with you when he's 25 30 30 I don't know 25 I would say almost certainly you know I think there will come a day when Dan wants independence well yeah I mean you can never say never I mean I know at some point I think he's going to do 25 I would bet yes 30 I think now we're talking about the point where he may decide that he wants to give it a try on his own he's already gone through the boys his own age and they have in fact kind of peeled off so now he hangs with a bunch of boys who were two years younger than him what happens when they hit 1718 and they want to go on to other things you know I mean Dan can't keep hanging out with 14 year old kids until he's 30 [Music] [Music] the United States to the Republic for which it stands one nation when I first met him he was like the size of like town of thumb my job is to make sure that he gets on and off the bus safely and I make sure that like he doesn't get trampled and he's safe during the day Danny's Constitution is such that his body has to work much harder and he tires easily every morning at school he's allowed a one-hour nap when he went to grammar school I remember in middle school well you saw him get off the bus he couldn't even get on the bus we used to have to pick him up and put him on the bus so I've known him for some time you know he's got a walk twice as fast as everybody but everybody acknowledges him they knew they'd see him he gets along with everyone everyone loves him he can be fresh he can didn't get mad just like anyone else and what's just kind of hard to get mad at him because when he does get mad he's pretty funny but he has a temper you got in trouble the other day you just got suspended so yeah for a swearing at a teacher we're gonna wake him up anyway cuz it's time for him to get up okay if he's not snoring daddy Danny goes to the canteen ahead of his classmates to avoid being crushed I hear you got into trouble yesterday did you have a suspension yeah what's that for and then I was blowing in I have my mouth once you let your mouth run what did you say alright get another one there it goes it's a bad order can't say you said a bad word about somebody getting me man what your aid huh she makes you mad fellows so what did you say Danny I didn't mind a shout no but Jordan she heard you and she reported you yeah now why did you say that - you're annoying she noising would you like to be more independent Jen and Zia do you need her yes so and you do you feel a bit trapped yeah cuz you kind of need her book you'd like it to be a long way away yeah [Music] certainly the one thing that's the toughest part of it to handles is thinking about the things that he's going to have to go through later you know there's going to be a day when Dan you know wakes up in the morning and probably says to himself you know where am I going to find a wife or a girlfriend or someone to marry and just thinking about that him having to go through that is that's tough [Music] [Music] now what you want to be when you grow up a Nashville approach you want to be a basketball coach for our homes no I do you think you'll be able to do that yeah do not need to be terribly tall to be a basketball coach yeah I can do Oh happens how many kids would you like to have one more time ready two three and half they both been through puberty both of them mm-hmm yes yes so that was a experience in itself families isn't so bad boys I they're so much easier but this is a very interesting and she was probably better prepared than the adults she know that she would have a period she did she is a Sheena should have a period she's very prepared in that aspect and she knew that you know she'd be crabby and all of that how old was Bridgette when she was just 15 she actually has to have enough body fat now we plateaued at that 27 and a half inches when she put on three more pounds so I guess that was just enough body fat to send her over to be able to have a menses so let's start at the beginning who will you marry in order to have your kids a regular guy a tall guy or a short guy they may be available well no do you think you'll find him in your hometown [Music] no primordial dwarf has ever got pregnant or fathered a child none has ever got married there's no research to prove whether their babies will be primordial dwarfs or of average-sized and doctors fear that delivering the baby would be fatal [Music] how tall were your parents my middle name say - seven - seven in the hair and then saddle ritsuo yes yes my father is red hair most primordial don't reach the age of 30 but Sharon has managed to get to the remarkable age of 43 and is the oldest primordial dwarf in the USA Sharon was born into an isolated farming community in Illinois in 1961 she wasn't diagnosed for many years and didn't attend school the authorities claiming she would slide off the school bus seats I'll spray most of my games and then because men give it's good during the game and who is Linda Lingle my half-sister I'll check since my sister and my half-brothers only eight and a half but I was excited and happy I wanted a little brother or sister of course I wasn't for sure about wanting ones that tiny but was like having a doll and I pushed around in my and a carriage it was a unique experience how long did you add doll's clothes for poppy chemistry or failure our mother was a very beautiful woman inside and out and the hard worker I credit her with Sharon's survival what was life like for you as a teenager he can't die no after opening don't raise and to come no I know bicycling soon I think 15:16 take a drag don't drive bang things and so it I suppose it is no Nina that respect [Music] yes I envy her she's not a nervous person and I'm very nervous she doesn't get upset over hardly anything and I I can get upset but G has a good outlook on life and she always sees and other people the good thing [Music] hannah is going through little early puberty things now and sometimes she'll say that she doesn't like being who she is she doesn't like being tiny she wants to be like her friends so she can hold their hands and run and ride the same sized bike and do all the things that they're doing the families of primordial Dwarfs are often very isolated and they use the internet to communicate jackie is taking Hannah to meet Sharon to help her feel more positive about her life as a very small person [Applause] Sharon's probably feeling good about herself and she's been through so much I need to know things like you know you seem like you really like yourself that you're really happy with yourself when did that change how do you get to that point [Music] [Music] yes she is very tiny she's a primordial dwarf and they are the tiniest Dwarfs in the world that are proportioned there's only a handful of panis type in the world [Music] these kids are in this this huge world and this huge world is not going to shrink for them so they have to adapt somehow to this world but how can you live like that how can you be happy that way [Music] [Music] the meeting is important for Sharon - it's been five years since she's seen another primordial dwarf like herself [Music] have to have base acres just Anna and ring yet this is mainly missing a thing this is my interview that's my egg come here and sometimes this one guys that look so easter egg compare mr. Aragon and Jamie so sometimes she'll lick your nose but she doesn't lick your cheek or anything but she's kind of hot what's it like to see Hannah it's almost like seeing my sister when she was Hannah's age same blonde hair same voice take you back yeah it does it really does you just want to scoop Hannah up and hug her though she's got larger arms than what Sharon said Sharon's guys had smaller arms I call him toothpick arms they were so skinny so Hannah's a little bit bigger that way yeah yeah and she's an adult so you have a little room to grow you were gonna ask sharing a question what were you gonna ask her nice game mm I don't have a son game something goes wrong I want so badly for Hannah to be normal to be like everybody else and is that wrong to want so much just like with my other children I want them to do everything this world has to offer do you think she'll be able to achieve that yes I do and I'm gonna keep saying that because I just really believe in being positive and positive words have to come out she has to hear all the positive that's out there if I can't give that to her she will have nothing and she'll have nothing to fall back on here no memory you know where that goes around and round the tape recorder in your head she won't have that unless we keep saying to her you can you can you can [Music] do you think you're facing the toughest years now how I know we are yeah from here on out I think it probably gets tougher from now til probably you know coming up to 30 it's going to be very difficult people grow into adulthood you get a lot of self-worth from working and owning your you know earning your own money and it's very very important and we want to fund let him experience that but it's also the you know this is the time when you disengage from your parents bail up your own relationships and I just don't know it's gonna go for him right last Christmas Danny went to his first dance that's Joey what did it feel like to go out with Desiree thank you going I'm sorry no huge burn though because I asked another girl and she couldn't go and Desiree came up to me say oh I'll go with you she's a junior she's been ahead of me is that one of the happiest days of your life yeah what does that make you feel happy no cuz I actually went out with someone who will appreciate it and I'm and same as everyone else the first time you go ask me out and first time go so that you know she could go out with me do you think you'll go out with her again I don't know no they're not depends is another dance people who grow up with completely normal lives are can be devastated if somebody they love leaves them or if somebody does something that hurts them or if they don't get something that they've been dreaming about all their life so you know what what you have with Dan is you have a certainty that that's going happen there's there's almost a certainty that at some point in his life he's going to be very disappointed in love he's going to be told that there's some goal that he wants to achieve that he's simply not going to be able to achieve because of the way he was born so at some point it's gonna hang now some of the friends will start you know drinking or going out nights and you know he'll want to stay out till two o'clock in the morning or you know why not I why can't I everyone else who's 18 or 19 does it you know and what do you say Yoshi I'm doing it with both hands it's cut push and pull I mean one statistic that scares the heck out of me is the suicide rate among male Dwarfs over the age of 18 it's high it's about lack of power lack of control and men are so wrapped up in that and he's for weight oh it would streak that down Christie's marriage ended in divorce soon after Bradley was born it was such a hard time in my life you know and and still you you look back and wonder if you did everything like you should have what could you have done differently I I don't think that I probably could have but you still struggle with that you still struggle but it's the everyday struggles I think that they're probably the hardest and I think that's because it's ongoing so I'll probably in ten years look back and think the same thing you know [Music] do you think he'll get mad I don't know I you know in a perfect world I would find Hannah and him would get along perfectly and they'd be perfectly matched and they could live in the little apartment above her and be safe and live a productive life and everything I started thinking about that when he was born I was sure and then I was like scale back Monica just think about tomorrow preschool don't think about [Music] [Applause] [Music] Danny is now at high school taking his senior exams [Music] do you think you'll live a long life I don't know I'm sorry and that's Sean how long I live but I'll make do with what I can yeah just given you any idea how long you might live no they don't know I don't think anyone really knows how long how long would you like to live I don't know what sounds like a good age and you said so many I think for me yeah just like the rest of us yes [Music] you

Channel: Only Human

Views: 6,256,592

Rating: 4.8355479 out of 5

Keywords: The Smallest People In The World, primordial dwarf, primordial dwarfism, primordial dwarfism documentary, the smallest people in the world documentary, smallest people in the world documentary, smallest people in the world videos, primordial dwarfism hannah, primordial dwarf hannah, only human full documentaries, Only human channel, only human full documentary, only human, born different full episodes, amazing medical stories, born different full episodes season 1

Id: A8BInfbcgFg

Length: 47min 58sec (2878 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 08 2017

Reddit Comments

[u/thesilentbob123]

Just finished the doc. It is very difficult to think about...

[u/Begotten912]

The idea of these little people doing sex and trying to have children with average sized people is a bit disturbing, and they went right into that within like the first few minutes lol

[u/cjbpnw]

What beautiful individuals, I would be honored to have one of them as a friend

[u/starlordee]

I felt bad for Hannah why would a parent send there child to public school knowing kids will be inhumanly cruel towards her

[u/[deleted]]

Yo, she had TWO of them! Says she didn't know. Well, I think that's a good reason not to have kids so close together, damn.

[u/DesiPattha]

Does the size of the brain have any effect on the cognitive abilities?

[u/NoSyMe]

14:56. Didn't know Matt Damon and Ben Affleck had a dwarf sibling.