The world's tallest woman recently revealed that she can only lay fly laying down on a stretcher to travel.
Rumeysa Gelgi from Turkey currently holds the Guinness World Record for the world's tallest woman, standing at an incredible seven feet tall.
As per The Sun, the 25-year-old was born with Weaver syndrome, which is a genetic condition that causes bone overgrowth.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, people with Weaver syndrome are "usually very tall" and "may have distinct facial features, such as wide-set eyes." They may also have "intellectual or physical disabilities."
Gelgi has some medical implications, including scoliosis, which affects the curvature of the spine. This comes with some other external physical issues, which the record holder only realized when she got on her first-ever flight from Turkey to California.
Due to her issues, Gelgi cannot sit up for any longer than two hours at a time, which meant that she was forced to lie down on a stretcher for the duration of her flight.
Speaking to the outlet in an exclusive interview, she said that Turkish Airlines had to close off six seats for her to travel.
"Lying down was the only possible option for me and also the safest option," she explained. "This was not an easy process. I mean, this is not what they do often. The option is only provided by a few airline companies in the world, and thankfully one of them was Turkish Airlines."
The 25-year-old explained that passengers were only usually allowed to use equipment if they were in "acute medical distress."
"I was probably the first person who used this option for tourism reasons," the seven-foot-woman added.
Gelgi has been battling with severe physical issues her entire life due to her stature, but after a life-changing surgery, she went from only being able to sit up for 20 minutes to now being able to do so for 2 hours.
"Now I am able to sit up for two hours at once, but it's not longer than that," she said, adding that after two hours she needs to lie down "because there's so much pressure on my back."
When talking of her future hopes to travel more, she said: "I'm really hoping to go on a trip to Los Angeles and nearby places. I would love to visit other states as well, but I don't know if I ever would have the opportunity," she said, adding that she cannot ride in standard cars because they're too small.
"I'm really so happy and proud to have this title because I really, really love sharing my story with the world, hopefully, to inspire others."
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