18-Year-Old Gamer Looks Like A Child

An 18-year-old has a rare condition which makes him look and act like a child. Christopher Rea, from Newark, Delaware, suffers from an extremely rare form of dwarfism called Mucopolysaccharidosis Type 4, otherwise known as Morquio, which affects only 1 in 250,000 births worldwide. Symptoms include skeletal deformities, dwarfism, narrow airways, spinal instability and enlarged organs and, incredibly, Christopher has two younger sisters with the same condition. Despite his symptoms, which include being unable to walk since the age of 7, Christophe's parents describe him as a funny character who loves playing computer games.

“Christoper is hilarious, he is very funny. He is into wrestling and video games and the computer. He just lover Skylanders! He is an all-around happy kid,” says Carrie Rea, Christopher’s mom.

18-year-old Christopher has rare a form of dwarfism. When he was born he looked like a perfectly healthy baby, he was 8 pounds 5 ounces. It wasn’t until he was 18-months-old when he started showing skeletal deformities, his feet turning, his chest sinking in, his rib-cage flaring out. They forethought he had Sanfilippo Syndrome but it wasn't, it was Morquio. Morquio Syndrome which also goes by the name Mucopolysaccharidosis Type 4. It is a progressive condition that mainly affects the skeleton. The children are missing an enzyme that is required for the breakdown of sugar molecules.

Unluckily for Christopher, he has all the symptoms of Morquio Syndrome, which, amongst other things means he has lost the ability to walk due to skeletal abnormalities.

“He stopped walking when he was around six or seven. It was difficult, because of the deformities. He had a hard time making friends because he was already shy and he couldn’t play with the other kids,” his mother remembers.

“Does being small affect your confidence?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”

In school he was affected by much bullying so his parents had to withdraw him to be home-schooled.

But it was not just Christopher who was born with that rare form of dwarfism. His two younger sisters also have the condition.

“To have one child with Morquio is extremely rare. Morquio Syndrome occurs only once in 3,000 births in the US, and once you have one with Morquio, you have one in four chance, and we have three,” Carrie Rea explains.

Luckily, it is much easier for Christopher's sisters because they do not have what he has had, like enlarged organs, and they both are extremely happy children.

“The biggest challenge of having three children with Morquio Syndrome is, I would say, all the hospital visits,” Carrie continues.

All three children had multiple surgeries due to their condition, as well as taking a multitude of medicine every week to help with the symptoms. At their home, there is an entire room purposed for storing their medication, there is a shipment every month, stored in appropriate refrigerators, as if in a proper hospital.

“Christoper is a character all by himself. He is very funny and very stubborn, and you would think that with an attitude like that he would be pretty bigger,” says mom proudly.

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