- Title: BRAZIL: Giant teen dreams of being a model
- Date: 30th August 2010
- Summary: BRAGANCA, BRAZIL (AUGUST 29, 2010) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF VIEWS OF BEACHSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE 14-YEAR-OLD ELISANY SILVA MEASURING 6'9" (2.06 METERS) LIVES WITH HER FAMILY SILVA WALKING WITH HER MOTHER AND THREE SISTERS AGED 8, 12 AND 16. SILVA AND HER FAMILY WALKING INTO GROCERY STORE VARIOUS OF SILVA IN GROCERY STORE VARIOUS OF SILVA AND HER FAMILY WALKING BACK HOME VARIOUS OF SILVA AND HER OLDER SISTER, TALICIA, ARRIVING HOME (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) 6'9" TEEN, ELISANY SILVA, SAYING: "I think my size, my body which is very slim, my tiny waist… Everyone who sees me tells me I could either be a basketball player or a model. But I'd rather be a model." CLOSE OF SILVA'S FEET HANGING OFF HER BED SILVA LYING DOWN ON HER BED VARIOUS OF SILVA'S MOTHER, ANA MARIA CRUZ, CLEANING THE HOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) SILVA'S MOTHER, ANA MARIA CRUZ, SAYING: "We noticed she was growing too much, off the limits. We noticed it wasn't normal for her age, which was 11 at the time." VARIOUS OF SILVA AND HER SISTERS IN HER HOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) 6'9" TEEN, ELISANY SILVA, SAYING: "The doctors suspected I have a tumor my pituitary gland and asked me to undergo a laser tomography, but I never got a chance to do it." VARIOUS OF SILVA AND HER OLDER SISTER SITTING ON THEIR HOUSE PORCH (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) 6'9" TEEN, ELISANY SILVA, SAYING: "Now I like to be a tall girl. It calls people's attention. Everyone looks at me, takes photos, films…" VARIOUS OF SILVA AND HER SISTERS WALKING TOWARDS THE BEACH SILVA'S SISTER PULLING HER BY THE ARM AND RUNNING ON THE SAND
- Embargoed: 14th September 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Brazil
- Country: Brazil
- Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVACPY2KHWNOXKH9LBJJ1LTLLHTI
- Story Text: Fourteen-year-old Elisany Silva is 6 feet, 9 inches (2.06 meters) tall and still growing.
Life is not easy for the Brazilian girl who lives in a poor beachside neighborhood in the northern city of Braganca.
Her abnormal height has forced her to quit school because she became too big to ride the bus. Practicing sports and running around with her friends is also on the list of things Silva can no longer do.
Constant headaches and muscle pain also trouble the young girl, who has to bend down to walk through the door of her small wooden home, where she lives with her mother and three sisters.
But while most of the time all she wants is to be as tall as her sisters, Silva also dreams of becoming a famous model.
"I think my size, my body which is very slim, my tiny waist… Everyone who sees me tells me I could either be a basketball player or a model. But I'd rather be a model," she said.
Her runway debut is scheduled for late September in a bridal fashion show in Belem.
But her mother, Ana Maria Cruz, is more concerned about her health than her success as a model. She is unable to pay for a treatment that would help slow down her excessive growth, which is likely caused by tumor on her pituitary gland.
Tumors can prevent the gland located in the brain from collecting feedback on the levels of growth hormone in the body, leading it to produce excessive amounts of hormone.
Cruz said she noticed her daughter's exaggerated growth when she was 11.
"We noticed she was growing too much, off the limits. We noticed it wasn't normal for her age, which was 11 at the time," she said.
Silva said doctors need to run a laser tomography in order to giver her a final diagnosis, but it is too expensive.
"The doctors suspected I have a tumor my pituitary gland and asked me to undergo a laser tomography, but I never got a chance to do it," she said.
Last week a public hospital in the nearby capital of Belem said they would be able to run the necessary medical tests soon, but did not give her a date.
Only months ago, no one outside Silva's city had ever heard of her. But her fame is now spreading all over the world after her video became a hit on Youtube.
Fashion websites have published stories about the good-looking teen, speculating she might even become a sensation on international runways.
And Silva's recent celebrity status is already changing the way she sees herself.
"Now I like to be a tall girl. It calls people's attention. Everyone looks at me, takes photos, films…," she said.
Silva is now hoping her entrance on Belem's catwalks next month will help her modeling career take-off. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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