3-Year-Old Boy Looks Like Newborn Because Of Rare Form Of Dwarfism

Dec 18, 2019 by apost team

When Jenevieve Cook discovered that she was pregnant, she expected to give birth to a normal, healthy baby girl or boy.

She and the child's father started to prepare for the arrival of their baby with the usual newborn clothes and accessories. But then, everything changed.

According to WLKY News, Jenevieve’s doctors decided to move forward and deliver Matthew Riddle III at only 28 weeks with the tiny baby weighing a little more than a pound. While it seemed that they knew something that Jenevieve didn’t, the doctors weren’t giving the worried parents any real answers.

After Matthew spent 98 days in the NICU unit, he was finally ready to go home, and doctors announced that he had microcephaly and probably wouldn’t live very long or have a very good quality of life. 

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Although finding out that he was simply going to stay small for the rest of his life was a tremendous blessing, the family was faced with some obstacles. First, how were they to dress a child that would be older and yet still too small for newborn clothing?

The solution came in the form of doll clothes and outfits made for “Build-A-Bear” teddy bears. Even when he was seven-months-old, strangers would see baby Matthew and be stunned at his tiny size. Jenevieve reveals that some people would ask if he had been born “5 minutes ago”!

As Matthew continued to grow, he was diagnosed with a cerebrovascular disorder called “moyamoya”, which means that arteries in the brain are blocked. With mounting hospital bills looming ahead along with travel expenses, the family took their story to the internet where they were supported by friends and even strangers.

Thanks to a now-deleted GoFundMe page, Matthew was able to get the help that he needed. Matthew is now three-years-old and, just as predicted, he’s very small. Genevieve says that he is on track to accomplish all the normal milestones for children his age; however, he will always be much smaller than his peers.

Have you ever known a child that had dwarfism or a condition that made them smaller than others their age? Let us hear about them in the comment section below!