"Girl of Steel": 7-year-old schoolgirl does not feel hunger, pain and fatigue
Olivia Farnsworth from the city of Huddersfield will surely seem like an ordinary child to you. But this girl is unique. She never gets tired, can go without food for many days and does not feel pain. The fact is that 7-year-old Olivia has a rare case of a genetic disease: she is the only person in the world who simultaneously suffers from three genetic disorders at once. This is such a rare occurrence that it doesn't even have a name, and doctors simply shrug their shoulders in helplessness.
This may sound like a great superhero comic book plot, but it's really not all that rosy. Olivia's mother, 32-year-old Niki, says that one day her daughter was hit by a car, dragged a decent distance behind her, and the girl got up, brushed herself off and went on. Once Olivia bit her lip so hard that she had to undergo plastic surgery. In addition, there are some other manifestations of genetic disorders. Olivia's hair did not grow for a very long time, which is why she was teased as a boy. The girl is prone to outbursts of aggression, perhaps because she does not understand what pain is, and therefore she tries to harm others using her arms, legs and head.
At the moment, the mother of five, Nika Trepak, is trying to raise money on her Facebook page to fund the study of her daughter's rare disease and the search for treatments.
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Niki Trepak and her daughter Olivia Farnsworth.
Due to three genetic disorders at the same time, Olivia does not feel hunger, pain and fatigue.
One day, Olivia's mother got a call from the kindergarten and was told that the girl had fallen and her lower tooth had pierced her lip. The doctor who examined her suspected something was wrong, since the child did not react to pain in any way.
The girl was hit by a car and dragged her along. No major injuries were found other than severely abraded skin on the leg and toe and a splint print on the chest. Doctors suggest that injuries were avoided because the child did not strain his muscles during the impact.
Already at the age of 9 months, Olivia stopped sleeping during the day. As she got older, she always found excuses to avoid nap time. Her mother recalls that the first time Olivia yawned was when she went to school. She never cried or complained, Nicky even jokingly called her "the girl of steel". The mother could not even imagine that her child simply did not feel pain.
32-year-old Niki with her five children.
Keywords: UK | Genetics | Girl | Disease | Uniqueness