- Mandy Sellars
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Mandy Sellars (born 20 February 1975 in Lancashire, United Kingdom) is a woman diagnosed as suffering from what is believed by some doctors to be Proteus syndrome, a very rare condition thought to afflict only 120 people worldwide.[1]
Biography
She was born with abnormally large and misshapen legs and feet, which continued to grow at a disproportionate rate. In a November 2009 interview, she estimated that she weighed about 21 stone (294 lb or 133 kg): 6 stone (84 lb or 38 kg) for her upper body and the remainder in her legs and feet (210 lb or 95 kg).[2]
Doctors were unable to provide a diagnosis for many years, until some doctors decided on Proteus syndrome in May 2006,[1] though Sellar's condition is atypical in many respects. The most famous person with Proteus syndrome may be Joseph Merrick, the "Elephant Man". There is no known cure.[1]
When she was born, doctors were unsure if she would survive very long. However, she was walking at about 18 months.[3] When it was recommended to her mother June that the then seven-year-old have her legs amputated, June refused in order to provide as normal a life as possible for her child.
At 19, Mandy Sellars moved out to live on her own. She obtained a B.Sc. in psychology from the University of Central Lancashire, and succeeded in maintaining an independent lifestyle as an adult, with no live-in helpers.[4] She gets around using crutches or a wheelchair, and has a specially modified hand-controlled car.
When she was 28, she suffered a deep vein thrombosis, which left her paralyzed from the waist down for about six or eight weeks. Afterward, she had to learn to walk again.[2] Three years later, she got a blood infection, her kidneys failed, and she contracted MRSA.[3]
Ultimately, it is expected that she will have to have her legs amputated. When the television documentary series Extraordinary People devoted an episode to her called "The Woman with Giant Legs" (2008), it paid for her trip to the United States to consult "renowned orthopaedic surgeon Dr. William Ertl and prosthetic whizz Kevin Carroll."[3] After examining her, they gave her hope that she would be able to have a less drastic amputation than the one recommended by her doctors which would have severely curtailed her independence.
Her left leg had to be amputated above the knee in 2010.[5]
References
- ^ a b c "Woman's 11-stone legs may be lost". BBC News. 3 May 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/lancashire/6621331.stm. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
- ^ a b Ashley Neglia (16 November 2009). "Mandy Sellars: What If Your Legs Couldn't Stop Growing?". aolhealth.com. http://www.aolhealth.com/2009/11/16/proteus-syndrome/. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
- ^ a b c Monica Cafferky (14 August 2008). "Doctors don't know why my legs are getting bigger". Daily Mirror. http://www.mirror.co.uk/life-style/2008/08/14/doctors-don-t-know-why-my-legs-are-getting-bigger-115875-20697469/.
- ^ Bob Brown (9 September 2008). "Rare Condition Causes Woman to Have Gigantic Legs, Feet". ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MedicalMysteries/story?id=5754738&page=2. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
- ^ The Learning Channel "Losing One of My Giant Legs"
External links
Categories:- 1975 births
- English people with disabilities
- Living people
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