Yao Defen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article or section needs to be updated. Please update the article to reflect recent events / newly available information, and remove this template when finished. |
| Yao Defen (姚德芬) | |
 |
|
| Born | July 15, 1972 Liuan, Anhui, Shucheng, China. |
|---|---|
| Occupation | World record holder |
| Height | 2.336 Meters (7ft 9in) |
Yao Defen (Chinese: 姚德芬; Pinyin: Yáo Dé Fēn) of China, (born 15 July 1972) is the tallest woman in the world confirmed by the Guiness Book of World Records. After three days of measuring (in the morning, afternoon, at midnight) it was confirmed that she is, generally, 7 foot 9 inches tall. She weighs about 200 kg (440 lbs). Her gigantism is due to a tumor in her pituitary gland.
Contents |
[edit] Early Life
Yao Defen was born to poor farmers in the town of Liuan in the Anhui province of Shucheng County. At birth she weighed 6.16 pounds. At age 3 she was eating more than three times the amount of food that other three-year-olds were eating. When she was 11 years old she was about 6 foot 2 inches tall. She was 6 foot 8 inches tall by the age of 15.
The story of this "woman giant" began to spread rapidly after she went to see a doctor at age 15 for an illness. After that, many companies attempted to train her to be a sports star. The plans were abandoned, however, because Defen was too weak. Because she is illiterate, since 1992 Yao Defen has been forced to earn a living by traveling with her father and performing.
Yao Defen's giant stature was caused by a large tumor in the pituitary gland of her brain, which was releasing too much growth hormone and caused excessive growth in her bones. Six years ago, a hospital in Guangzhou Province removed the tumor, and she stopped growing.
[edit] Exploitation
She signed on with a circus to make a living and help support her mother. Unfortunately the manager was cruel to her. She fell during performances and he refused to take her to a doctor. Her health got worse and her boss became angry with her due to her declining job performance. The decline itself was a result of her poor health. After the death of her father and because of her continuing decline in health, she asked to go home. Her boss took her to a mountain and left her there. She was left with no food or water for 24 hours. She was tricked into signing a new contract with the circus. When her contract had expired, she again asked to go home but instead was taken back to the mountain. Finally the boss let her go home, where she lived with her mother and brother, almost totally bedridden and barely ambulatory due to her fragile bone structure and a heart condition.
[edit] Help
A British television programme filmed a documentary on her and helped raise money so she could get proper medical care. Two leading doctors in Acromegaly agreed to help Yao. She was taken to a nearby city hospital, where imaging procedures revealed that a small portion of her tumor, removed many years before, still remained, causing continuing problems, including weakening vision as it pressed against her optic nerve. She returned home, then was admitted for a month under observation in the larger Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, and given dietary supplements. In that hospital, her growth hormone was greatly slowed down, although it is still a problem. Upon her return home to her mother and brother, she was able to walk with crutches, unassisted by others, and was given a six-month supply of medicines and supplements in hopes of improving her condition enough to undergo surgery.
[edit] Acromegaly
Yao currently suffers from hypertension, heart disease, poor nutrition, and osteoporosis. Acromegaly often results from a tumor within the pituitary gland that causes excess growth hormone secretion. As a result, the body's features become enlarged. It can also delay the onset of puberty as is the case with Yao. She has no secondary sexual characteristics. Potential complications without necessary surgery include blindness and eventually premature death.
She lives near her mother (who is only 4 ft 8 inches tall) in a small village in rural China.
