Charlie and Cullen were the
perfect couple, and they lived a happy life together in a beautiful suburb in
Sydney, Australia. They shared a lot of the same interests and had a lot in
common. When they first met during their time at college, they hit it off almost
immediately. Once they started chatting, they found out that they got along
naturally, and it wasn’t long before the two became an item. But the fact
remained that both Charlie and Colin were suffering from dwarfism.
Charlie suffered from a form
of dwarfism called achondroplasia. This is a genetic condition that affects a
protein in the body called the fibroblast growth factor receptor. With this
particular protein functioning abnormally, it drastically slows down the growth
of bones and cartilage. Luckily, people who have achondroplasia can live long,
normal, and happy lives with only delayed and stunted development during their
infancy.
On the other hand, Cullen
suffered from a form of dwarfism called geleophysic dysplasia. This is a rarer
and more serious form that affects many parts of the body. It most commonly
affects the bones, joints, heart, and skin, and it is a progressive condition,
meaning it continues developing throughout the person’s life. Because it
affects the heart and the lungs, around a third of the babies suffering from
geleophysic dysplasia die before the age of five. Luckily, if you make it past
that point, you’re relatively in the clear. Cullen was one of the lucky ones.
This is the long-winded way
of saying that these two star-crossed lovers had underlying medical issues that
they had to deal with, and that’s before we even get onto the social issues.
How people would mock them and laugh at them. People would make fun of their
small stature and call them all kinds of mean and hurtful names. Thankfully,
both Charlie and Colin were thick-skinned and didn’t let such abuse get to
them.
So strong was the
relationship that they decided they wanted to start a family. They had been
married for several years by that point and they owned their own home, so
having a child was the next natural step. However, despite their best efforts,
they were struggling to conceive. The miracle of life is still largely a
mystery, and even though there was nothing wrong with Charlie’s eggs or
Cullen’s sperm, the goal of falling pregnant still eluded them.
The pair decided that they
should check in with their doctor. Perhaps he would be able to run some tests
or give them some hints and tips on how to successfully conceive a child. But
when they arrived at the hospital, they were not expecting the news that they
were given. The doctor strongly advised against the pair having children.
They had strong reservations
about the safety and health of the child if two people with dwarfism conceived
the child. There is a strong chance that the baby will inherit the condition
from one or both of the parents. If they got a double dose of the dwarfism
gene, then the likelihood of stillbirth was massively increased. It was a
serious risk that Charlie and Cullen needed to think about.
Doctors advised that if they
conceived and the child died in the womb, the consequences could be fatal for
Charlie. There were always inherent risks when someone with dwarfism became
pregnant, and it was a doctor’s job to try to protect life rather than put it
in danger.
They wouldn’t have been
doing their jobs correctly if they had allowed Charlie and Colin to continue
trying to conceive without being fully informed of what could potentially go
wrong. Still, there was hope. The child might only inherit the dwarfism gene
from only one of the parents. In fact, there was around a 25% chance that it
wouldn’t inherit it at all and they would produce an average baby that would
grow like someone without dwarfism. It was a game of numbers, a game of chance,
and a game of risk.
Before long, though, Charlie
discovered that she was, in fact, pregnant. The couple had largely stopped
trying, so the news was a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. The pregnancy
went without a hitch, and Charlie eventually gave birth to a beautiful baby
girl, Tilda, who inherited achondroplasia, her mother’s form of dwarfism. Then,
less than two years later, the couple had their second child, another girl they
named Tully. She also inherited achondroplasia from her mother.
After Tilda and Tully were
born, Charlie set up an Instagram account. On it, she shared photos, videos,
and stories about her family’s life. People from around the world took a great
interest in this family of people who were all suffering from dwarfism, and it
wasn’t long before Charlie had amassed hundreds of thousands of followers. The
followers all supported her and praised the family for being so strong and
open.
In return, Charlie would
open up her family’s life and share intimate details of how the family felt and
coped. In one of her posts, Charlie candidly wrote, “One of the most difficult
times for me was Christmas 2018. It was a period of pressure and prostration. I
had postpartum exhaustion and lived on less than four hours of sleep per night
for almost a year. I went back to work when Tully was only four months old, and
it was very difficult for me.
All this time, Cullen and I
didn’t exist as a couple or even as humans. We were just the parents.” But
things weren’t always so bad. In another post, she wrote, “It’s a continuous
series of emotions, moments of exaggerated love and happiness, as well as a
desire to have 10 more children one after another. It doesn’t matter how your
week went, even if it seems that you made a mistake with someone or something,
you should know it’s not true. You didn’t make a mistake, you’re doing your
best. No one will ever be a better mother for your children than you are.
Nothing gives me more confidence in life than my children.”
Buoyed by the warm response
from the legion of followers and supporters, Charlie and Cullen once again
tried for another child, eventually conceiving and, of course, sharing the news
on social media. They documented the highs and lows of the pregnancy, but there
was one big twist that no one could have ever predicted, something that left
Charlie, Cullen, and the many supporters and followers from around the world
shocked beyond all belief. The third child miraculously was completely free of dwarfism.
He had not inherited the dwarf gene from neither his mother nor his father.
That meant that despite all the odds, the third and final child was completely
healthy and would grow up to be a normal height. He would one day tower over
his parents.
Everyone was shocked by the
news, with many believing it to be a miracle. The odds were very much stacked
against Charlie and Cullen, but despite that, they had given birth to not one
but three amazing children. Doctors ran all kinds of tests and checks, but they
had soon confirmed it . The third child had no trace of the dwarf gene in his
body.
The chances of the child
avoiding the gene were incredible, and medical staff were shaken by this
development. They had initially criticized Charlie and Cullen for proceeding to
have children, but they had quickly been proven wrong. “I’ve coped with the
criticism for choosing to have babies with these odds of them having dwarfism,
but that’s a whole conversation in itself,” said Charlie via her social media
channels. “I just want to say that bringing a child into the world with my odds
is no simple decision.
Despite what people told
them and against medical advice, Charlie and Colin had not only had two healthy
children with dwarfism but also a perfectly healthy child untouched by the
condition. The chances of that happening were slim, but they managed to pull it
off. It just goes to show that even though the odds may be heavily stacked
against you, the chances of complete failure are very rarely zero.
So now it’s over to you.
What did you think of this amazing story? How would you have felt if you were
in Charlie and Colin’s shoes, with doctors strongly advising against you having
children? Would you have listened to them or would you take the risk? As always,
we love to hear from you, so be sure to leave your thoughts and opinions in the
comments section down below.