A woman born with dwarfism has revealed that she underwent limb lengthening surgery to stretch her body by 14 inches.
Kristen DeAndrade, 36, was born with the rare genetic condition achondroplasia dwarfism which prevents bone growth in the legs and arms.
From the age of 12, DeAndrade decided to undergo a bone-breaking surgery to stretch her limbs. The surgery works by drilling a hole into the leg bone to break it and a metal rod is then inserted and held in place by screws.
The rod is then slowly lengthened until the patient reaches the preferred height and the bones can then heal back together.
Check out her story below:The procedure, which took more than a year to complete, took the author from 3 feet, 9 inches tall to 4 feet, 11 inches. It also corrected her painful skeletal issues that were complications from her achondroplasia, as revealed in her article on Business Insider.
Speaking about the limb lengthening, the Florida resident stated in her article that the surgery is "very controversial" among people with dwarfism, which is why her parents wanted to make sure the procedures "were entirely [her] decision".
"Some see it as rejecting our bodies," the author explained, but she added that she "had known since childhood that this is what I wanted. For me, it was purely about function."
When DeAndrade left for college, she "never sat down to digest [her] diagnosis, and what it meant to [her]," and wished her parents "had seen therapy as a tool for wellness, rather than something reserved for people who were sick".
Back in 2015, the author revealed that she fell down the stairs and lost all feeling in her lower body - which led to her being unable to walk.
After a visit to the hospital, DeAndrade was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, which is when the space inside the backbone is too small, so this puts pressure on the spinal cord and nerves that travel through the spine, as explained by the Mayo Clinic.
She was instructed to do physical therapy, but this didn't work. Thankfully, DeAndrade found a doctor who recognized "that [she] was in danger of permanent paralysis because my spinal stenosis was so bad," so in 2016, she had another surgery.
However, she was still unable to move because her compression had been so severe that over the next two years DeAndrade had 12 additional surgeries and slowly she was able to get the sensation back in her body.
Now, DeAndrade works for that same surgeon as a patient advocate and expressed that being able to bond with people is "healing" to her, adding: "I love hearing their stories and sharing mine. Being open allows you to cut through the small talk and connect with people on such a deep level. And that's beautiful."
Per the Daily Mail, DeAndrade previously opened up about her surgery, sharing that she saw the limb lengthening as a means to an end. She had wanted to be able to live independently but felt her size was holding her back.