Adam Reiner – the dwarf who became a giant.
Adam Reiner – the dwarf who became a giant
In human record books, you can find references to both the largest and smallest people. It’s no secret that most often this is due to certain diseases that directly affect growth. Being on that list is nice, but most of the time it has a negative impact on quality of life. But there is one person who has been both a dwarf and a giant. Adam Reiner’s fate was truly unique.
♥ ABOUT THE ITEM: The tallest people on Earth in history + video.
Adam was born in Graz, Austria, in 1899. Adam’s parents were not known for his height, his father was 172cm tall, his mother 165cm tall. Adam had a brother, also of normal height. Except that Adam himself developed in a rather unusual way. At 18, it was time for him to enlist in the army, but even in war, a 48-inch soldier was not in demand. A year later, Rainer grew to 143 centimeters, but even that was too short for military service.
At that time he was considered a true dwarf; these men are usually no taller than 147 centimeters. Interestingly, despite his modest stature, Adam’s feet were disproportionately large: he required size 43 shoes. At 21, Rainer seemed to have stopped growing, except that his feet stretched even further, now up to size 53. .
At the age of 26, something happened to the man’s body: it began to grow again, and very vigorously. Over the next six years, Rainer grew from 143 to 218 centimeters. He could have grown even more, but at 26 he was diagnosed with a severe curvature of the spine, kyphosis, and the disease only progressed.
The giant found himself bedridden, where he spent the second half of his life. In addition, he first went blind in his right eye, his other eye was damaged, his hearing deteriorated, and then his left ear stopped hearing. Doctors examined this unusual patient and discovered that he had a tumor on his pituitary gland. Apparently, this was what determined such a rapid growth at an already mature age, as well as hearing and vision problems. The tumor had spread to the optic nerves, causing acromegaly, which is caused by the body secreting excessive amounts of hormones.
Adam Reiner had the classic facial and body features of acromegaly. The man had abnormally long arms and legs, and his forehead and lower jaw protruded prominently. His lips were large and his teeth few. In 1930 they decided to remove the tumor. A neurosurgeon, under local anesthesia, accessed a hard-to-reach section of the brain through the nose. A benign adenoma was found there and was removed. The procedure helped stop Rainer’s rampant growth, but it was too late.
The Austrian continued to grow, although not as fast. And his spine curved more and more. This is how the last 19 years of the giant’s life continued. He couldn’t stand on his own anymore, he needed more food, but he could barely eat. Apparently, the giant experienced not only weakness, but also headaches, numbness in the limbs, pain in the joints, and sexual dysfunction also developed. Adam Reiner had grown to measure 234 centimeters at the time of his death in 1950. After his death, the body of the unlikely record-breaker, who had been a dwarf and a giant, was cremated.
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