21 August 2014

A young boy with giant hands


Addendum:  the embedded video is no longer available.  A hat tip to reader Piper for finding a similar one at this UPI link.

The video tells the story in four minutes; here's the TL;DR for those in a hurry -
Eight-year-old Kaleem's hands weigh eight kilograms each and measure 13 inches from the base of his palm to the end of his middle finger.

The cricket fan, who lives in India, is unable to do many basic tasks – including tying his shoes laces – and has been bullied and shunned most of his life.

He said: "I do not go to school because the teacher says other kids are scared of my hands.
"Many of them used to bully me for my deformity. They would say 'let's beat up the kid with the large hands'."
The physician in the video is hopelessly out of his depth.  This is in no way a case of acromegaly (which is also not a disease of the thyroid).  Note the boy also has engorgement of the tissues of his upper chest.  I would favor a disorder of his lymphatic system - genetic rather than parasitic because of the early onset.

I'm also saddened by the responses of his childhood playmates, whose mockery and aggression remind me of the treatment accorded the "banjo goiter" man whom I previously blogged.

4 comments:

  1. It's important to confront this type of bullying. Too often, we just shrug and say "People are mean, what can we do?" I used to be very pass-remarkable until I realised that it was poisonous. It dawned on me that the happiest people I know would never make negative comments about someone's physical appearance. Even 1 second spent thinking that someone is fat/ugly/weird is a waste of time and makes no positive contribution to you or the world. I now try to avoid negative/critical thoughts about appearance; I feel I am much happier and people comment on how positive I am. People can and should change.

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  2. Video can be seen here

    http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2014/08/20/Indian-boy-with-hands-larger-than-his-head-cant-even-tie-shoes/7181408551314/

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Piper. That embed certainly didn't last long. I've added a link to the one you found to the text.

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  3. I suspect Proteus syndrome. Compare with this picture:
    http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bO5BlKIzpx4/S8loLqdxJpI/AAAAAAAAAB0/Pon6nuUmY60/s1600/duangjai.jpg

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