34-year-old Nathan Hrdlicka born without thighs because of a rare
medical condition has found love with a woman he met on Facebook. Nathan
– who is 1.37m (4ft 6in) tall – has been called a ‘midget’ but is now
happy in a loving relationship with girlfriend Chelsee Stuart.
.
When
Nathan, from Santa Fe, New Mexico, met 19-year-old Chelsee – who is at
least a foot taller than him – online, she initially saw his height as a
‘problem’. But then she fell in love with him and has seen past his
disability. .
.
Nathan is one of just 25 people in the world born
with tbilateral proximal femoral focal deficiency (PFFD) type D – which
means his knee bones are directly beneath his hip bones. .
.
He is
the only person with the disease who has been able to walk despite the
challenges. Nathan met Chelsee on Facebook on a healing page and they
hit it off immediately – despite Chelsee’s initial problem with their
height difference. .
.
Chelsee said: ‘It took us a lot of time to
really learn what works and what doesn’t work but eventually now
everything works.’ But she says she has learnt to accept him for who he
is – and the limitations of their relationship. .
.
‘One of the biggest challenges that we faced together is I’m a super, super physical person,’ she explained. .
.
‘I
like to go hiking and exploring in the woods and so it would be awesome
to do that with my best friend but since endurance is tough on him, he
can’t really keep up. I have to find other people to do those activities
with.’ .
.
Nathan is clearly smitten and says Chelsee is a
supportive partner. ‘Chelsee supports me emotionally as a friend in a
way that I never had in my life,’ he said. ‘When I am sick she is there
making sure there is everything she can do to make me feel better.’
MirrorUK