It’s hard enough to fit in as a teenager, but for 14-year-old Elisany Silva from Brazil, blending into the crowd is even tougher because she stands at a staggering 6-feet, 9-inches tall.
Elisany, thought to be one of the tallest teenagers in the world, could be suffering from a rare disease that has caused her to tower over the rest of her peers, the Daily Mail reported. But Elisany and her family are not sure exactly what that condition is because they can’t afford to see a doctor.
Due to her abnormal height, the teen said she was forced to quit school because she became too tall to ride the bus.
"It's hard when I'm inside home," Elisany told a local TV station in Brazil. "I get distracted and hit the wood in the ceiling with my head."
Elisany’s mother, Ana Maria Silva, said she just wants her daughter to be like the other girls.
"I want her to stop growing up," Silva said. "I know she feels weird and sometimes wants to be like them."
Although Elisany has not been diagnosed with any specific condition, an expert told the Daily Mail he believes she could be suffering from gigantism, which is caused by an excess of growth hormone during childhood.
"She might have the symptoms of the disease, which may be the headache, vision problems, and death of some other glands, like the thyroid, adrenals and the ovaries," the expert said. “It might cause serious implications for her health and even death."
The most common cause of too much growth hormone release is a benign tumor of the pituitary gland, according to the National Institutes of Health.
In the meantime, Elisany dreams of becoming a famous fashion model who struts the catwalk.
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