- Title: UKRAINE: Hard life and isolation for world's tallest man
- Date: 12th August 2007
- Summary: COW LEONID STADNYK TAKING BUCKET FROM WELL APPLE TREE LEONID STADNYK SITTING DOWN AND LOOKING AT HIS MOBILE PHONE, PRESSING NUMBER BUTTONS ON HIS MOBILE PHONE (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) WORLD'S TALLEST MAN, LEONID STADNYK, SAYING: "Let me first of all, appeal to all the people of the world and say that not all people are the same in the same way that there are no two identical apples in a barrel. The fact is that there are short people and tall people but the world is built for medium-sized people. Public transport is intended for medium-sized people and consumer goods - clothes and shoes -- are meant for medium-sized people." STADNYK'S FEET
- Embargoed: 27th August 2007 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Ukraine
- Country: Ukraine
- Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVA33FOCEFYO4ESF1FHWIXZK7K6P
- Story Text: Being named the world's tallest man has meant very little for Leonid Stadnyk, scraping together a living with his mother in a tiny village in central Ukraine.
Guinness World Records gave the accolade to him last week. But Stadnyk is prouder of the present from local authorities on his 37th birthday -- a bathroom with a shower tall enough to fit his 2.53-metre (8-foot, four-inch) frame.
"I don't need glory. I just want a normal life under normal conditions," Stadnyk told Reuters, dwarfing an armchair outside his modest bungalow.
"The fact is that there are short people and tall people but the world is built for medium-sized people. Public transport is intended for medium-sized people and consumer goods - clothes and shoes -- are meant for medium-sized people," Stadnyk added.
The Ukrainian's extraordinary height has been a heavy burden, rather than a blessing.
His spectacular growth began at about age 10 or 12. He is reluctant to discuss the details, though local media say a brain operation set off hormonal problems that kept him growing.
He was, nonetheless, gifted at school and became a veterinarian after travelling 50 km (30 miles) every day to the town of Zhytomyr, where student dormitories were unable to find a bed big enough to accommodate him.
But he had to quit the job as he just kept on growing. His size ruled out using normal transport and he resorted to a horse and cart, hardly suitable for a job entailing speedy travel.
Unable to find shoes that fit, Stadnyk's feet suffered from frostbite in winter. His hands became too big to use some of the equipment, and his health deteriorated as his organs worked overtime to support such a towering build.
He and his mother live off a pension equivalent to 100 U.S. dollars a month and whatever else they earn from growing tomatoes and cucumbers and raising chickens, cows and pigs.
Barely a village, Podolyantsi is a collection of ramshackle, yet tidy, houses 200 km (120 miles) west of the capital Kiev in a region traditionally considered "the breadbasket of Europe".
The glitter of consumer-oriented Kiev fades into a region dotted by forests and sky-blue lakes. Flashy foreign vehicles are replaced by Ladas and Soviet-era trucks, which swerve to avoid the occasional horse-drawn cart.
For Stadnyk, the simplest of things pose problems.
His mobile phone disappears into the grasp of one of his hands and the small keys make it difficult to use. But most frustrating is lack of mobility and dependence on others.
His mother now walks on crutches. Stadnyk also finds walking difficult: his feet simply cannot take the weight of his body.
Regional doctor Leonid Pavlyuk, said Stadnyk has complained of heart problems recently. But, the doctor said his health was "stable".
Andriy Danylov, head of the local authority which built the oversize shower, says Stadnyk is also provided with hormonal medication, produced abroad and requiring government permission.
Stadnyk hopes for practical things in the future to make his life easier, like transport and farm machinery and hopes life will bring him happiness. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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