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Leonid Stadnyk is the tallest man in the world. But not officially as he does not want to be recognised in the Guinness Book of World Records. His reason for this is that he does not feel that his size is anything to do with any accomplishments that he has made as a sports record would be. He says that he owes his size to God as it was God who made him that way.
The Ukrainian gentle giant appeared on television this evening on channel five's 'Extraordinary People.' Leonid is 8'4" tall (that's is more than three feet taller than me, although I am a bit of a shorty) and suffers from a condition called Pituitary Giantism.
But perhaps the most extraordinary thing about Leonid is not his height, but the fact that the tumour that caused him to become the tallest man in the world and would have been at least 3-5cm in size has just killed itself off meaning that he has had no need for any surgery- news that he was extremely glad to hear.
I am always intrigued by this programme- Extraordinary People- and I wonder if it is a healthy fascination that we have with people who are different or not 'normal.' One thing that I am always struck by is how admirable most of these extraordinary people are and I always feel as though I want to be their friend and give them a big hug- but then I realise how terribly patronising that would be.
Most of us (especially us women) spend a lot of our day feeling bloated and wondering what people think when they look at us, whether they have noticed that we have put weight on, whether they have noticed that we didn't have time to do our hair properly or put on that second coat of mascara. But in truth everybody is so wrapped up in worrying about what everybody else is thinking about them, that nobody is really looking at us at all.
But when you see an 8ft man walking towards you, you are going to stare. And he knows that. And he has to put up with that every day of his life. Kudos to Leonid and all the other extraordinary people in the world for graciously accepting what is special and extraordinary about them and for standing tall.
The Ukrainian gentle giant appeared on television this evening on channel five's 'Extraordinary People.' Leonid is 8'4" tall (that's is more than three feet taller than me, although I am a bit of a shorty) and suffers from a condition called Pituitary Giantism.
But perhaps the most extraordinary thing about Leonid is not his height, but the fact that the tumour that caused him to become the tallest man in the world and would have been at least 3-5cm in size has just killed itself off meaning that he has had no need for any surgery- news that he was extremely glad to hear.
I am always intrigued by this programme- Extraordinary People- and I wonder if it is a healthy fascination that we have with people who are different or not 'normal.' One thing that I am always struck by is how admirable most of these extraordinary people are and I always feel as though I want to be their friend and give them a big hug- but then I realise how terribly patronising that would be.
Most of us (especially us women) spend a lot of our day feeling bloated and wondering what people think when they look at us, whether they have noticed that we have put weight on, whether they have noticed that we didn't have time to do our hair properly or put on that second coat of mascara. But in truth everybody is so wrapped up in worrying about what everybody else is thinking about them, that nobody is really looking at us at all.
But when you see an 8ft man walking towards you, you are going to stare. And he knows that. And he has to put up with that every day of his life. Kudos to Leonid and all the other extraordinary people in the world for graciously accepting what is special and extraordinary about them and for standing tall.
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