by Meet The Four-Year-Old As Small As A Doll
A mum has told how her tiny four-year-old daughter, who is just two feet tall and weighs only two stone, has left doctors ʙᴀFFʟᴇᴅ.
Born smaller than a doll, Sophia Hecimovic measures just 87cm – compared to the 102cm average height for girls her age, who weigh nearly a stone more. Oddly, tests have shown the adorable child does produce growth ʜᴏʀᴍᴏɴᴇs, sᴏ ᴍᴇᴅɪᴄs cannot figure out why she is so tiny.
Her mum Effie Panayiotou, 29, said: “It’s so Fʀᴜsᴛʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ, because we don’t have an answer as to why she’s so much smaller than other children her age.Developmentally she’s behind as well – it took her two-and-a-half years to walk. People are very surprised when they see her and find out her age because she’s so small.”
Doctors first spotted Sophia was growing abnormally after Effie’s 19-week scan. The nursing student was advised to have a ᴄᴀᴇsᴀʀᴇᴀɴ at 36 weeks. Sophia arrived into the world weighing just 4lb and 13oz and measuring 46cm – below average for a newborn. And when she was placed beside a doll her mum had bought for her, Sophia was shorter.
For three weeks, the little mite was kept in ʜᴏsᴘɪᴛᴀʟ and closely monitored. Appearing weak, blood tests for chromosomal defects – came back negative. Despite her diet of high-calorie formula, she Fᴀɪʟᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ɢᴀɪɴ ᴡᴇɪɢʜᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍɪssᴇᴅ the usual milestones. These included failing to sit up until she was nine months old, compared to the usual four to six months.
“At eight months, she weighed just 11lbs and had grown to 61cm. In addition to her stagnated mobility, Sophia lost the ability to speak after her first birthday, despite saying ‘mumma’ and ‘dog’ at five months.”she said
Aged one, she was ᴅɪᴀɢɴᴏsᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ Rᴏʙɪɴᴏᴡ Sʏɴᴅʀᴏᴍᴇ, ᴀ ʀᴀʀᴇ ɢᴇɴᴇᴛɪᴄ ᴅɪsᴏʀᴅᴇʀ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴀFFᴇᴄᴛs the development of the ʙᴏɴᴇs. Only 250 families worldwide are affected by Robinow Sʏɴᴅʀᴏᴍᴇ. But Effie was relieved to finally have an answer for her daughter’s short stature, especially as her ᴄᴏɴᴅɪᴛɪᴏɴ was not deemed to be ʙᴏɴᴇ. With the help of Fᴏʀᴛɴɪɢʜᴛʟʏ ᴘʜʏsɪᴄᴀʟ ᴛʜᴇʀᴀᴘʏ sᴇssɪᴏɴs, her mobility started improving.
And by 17 months, she could crawl. Around 22 months after that they learned that Sophia’s Robinow Sʏɴᴅʀᴏᴍᴇ ʜᴀᴅ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴍɪsᴅɪᴀɢɴᴏsᴇᴅ. Typically those with the sʏɴᴅʀᴏᴍᴇ have larger heads compared to their bodies – which Sophia does not have. Her cognitive ability is also not affected. Now back to square one, the family, from Australia, are continuing with their quest to discover the exact cause of Sophia’s growth and developmental difficulties. Other ᴛᴇsᴛs Fᴏʀ ɢʀᴏᴡᴛʜ ʜᴏʀᴍᴏɴᴇs have come back normal. Now four, despite her small stature, Sophia has a larger-than-life personality – more like a teenager’s, She loves swimming and ballet dancing, and loves singing Taylor Swift and Whitney Houston songs.
