Teen is one in seven billion
HE may look like a toddler but Angus Palmes is actually 13-years-old.
The teenager, who goes to Park Lane School in Macclesfield, has a unique chromosome abnormality that has restricted his growth.
And while his older brother, Otis, 15, has rocketed to six feet in height, poor little Angus has been left behind and still wears clothes meant for a threeyear-old.
But while you might think this would make him miserable, this pintsized lad is happy-golucky.
Mum Tandy, 48, of Wildboardclough, said: “Angus is a really happy little boy. Whenever things are going his way he is delightful. He has this brilliant dirty laugh that is so infectious and always has people smiling.” Angus endured a tough start to his life. He needed surgery to correct a heart defect and talipes, also known as club foot.
He later had meningitis, surgery to treat gastrooesophageal reflux and more recently gastrostomy to allow him to be fed through an external tube.
Angus cannot walk unaided and has a wheelchair to get around. He also cannot communicate verbally and has developed his own sign lan- guage. He loves going to school, where Tandy is chair of governors, and watching Otis play at Macclesfield Cricket Club.
Tandy said: “Angus loves just hanging out, especially with his brother, who dotes on him. He also likes observing other people. He’s got a devious streak and seems to enjoy other people’s misfortune, roaring with laughter. He’s a bright boy but his learning disability means he just can’t say what he wants to say.”
But Tandy’s main bugbear is the ‘staring’.
She said: “Everyone in Macclesfield seems to know him but you do get used to people staring unwittingly. Luckily, Angus is always so smiley and that engages people to speak to us. When people ask me how old Angus is I say 13. They think I mean 13 months. He still wears clothes meant for a three-year-old.”
It is his chromosome abnormality that sets Angus apart – making him literally one in seven billion.
Tanya said: “There are no records of anyone else in the world having this abnormality. It means we have no idea of how it will develop over time and what the future holds for him.
“That was quite overwhelming in the beginning, but we just get on with it.”