STRANGE STORIES The ‘one-in-a-million’ dwarf ... 3ft 1in Levi has defied his death sentence from doctors
An 11-year-old boy is ‘one-in-a-million’ because he is one of just 30 people across the world with a rare form of dwarfism.
Levi Krystosek, from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, was expected to die within days of being born - but he overcame the odds.
However, his parents remain on tenterhooks as a playful tussle with his friends could be ‘catastrophic’ for the 3ft 1in schoolboy.
Doctors diagnosed ‘Little Levi’ with Jansen’s Metaphyseal Chondrodysplasia - which affects the growth of bones and causes considerable pain.
Levi, who flies across the country regularly to see different specialists, has a ‘high tolerance’ for pain and rarely complains.
Because of his condition Levi also cannot play any contact sports – even a friendly tussle with playmates could be life threatening.
Levi said: ‘How it makes me different from the other kids at school is I can’t play contact sports.’
His mother, Dona, added: ‘He is not allowed to jump. He has to be very careful. A simple headlock could be catastrophic for him.
Determined their son would survive, she and Joseph Krystosek had to feed Levi every two hours just to try and build up his strength.
When he started school, Levi, who can only see out of one eye, failed Kindergarten twice and was put into a special needs class. However, all he needed was to sit near the front of the class and have his worksheets blown up so he could read them. Little Levi, as he is known by friends and family, was then put into general education classes in the middle of 3rd grade (eight years old).
Despite dropping ‘through the cracks’, he caught up on three school years in one year - and is now in 5th grade and has started playing the piano too.
Source: Organization Disorders National for Rare