As the years pass and we welcome evermore astounding advances in science and technology, the list of things we can’t do as a species grows gradually smaller.
That includes, of course, modifications and adaptions we can make to our own bodies, many of which simply haven’t been possible over the course of human history up until the last couple of decades.
Now, you’ve certainly heard of plastic surgery; the concept of being able to drastically alter one’s appearance hasn’t been something confined to the pages of sci-fi novels for quite some time.
Dig a little deeper and you’ll find cases of individuals hitting the operating table to get themselves a washboard set of abdominal muscles, or even having body parts removed in an effort to tailor their looks to an extremely specific aim.
As I hinted at the beginning, the things we’re able to do now courtesy of modern medicine and science truly boggles the mind. The case of Chandler Crews, a Maryland woman who underwent limb lengthening surgery 15 years ago, proves just that.
According to the Daily Mail, Crews was born with achondroplasia, a genetic condition that Johns Hopkins Medicine defines as slowing down bone growth in the cartilage of the growth plate.
The defect itself is predominantly caused by a spontaneous mutation occurring in the developing embryo. It can be passed from parent to child, and often results in those who inherit the condition growing to an adult height of between 42 and 56 inches.
Crews, now 31, stopped growing when she was 16. At the time she stood just 3’10” tall, and said she found herself “physically struggling” to complete everyday tasks like washing her hair, driving a car, and using public restrooms.
That was until she underwent limb lengthening surgery.
Having made the huge decision to lengthen her arms and legs in a bid to attain the “life she wanted”, Crews went under the knife in August, 2010, at the Rubin Institute Advanced Orthopedics.
The surgery itself sees surgeons cut bone and use an external frame to slowly pull segments apart to simulate bone growth.
“I didn’t want to wait for the world to change to fit my needs,” Crews told the Daily Mail.
“I wanted to take charge and change for myself and no one else.”
Following her first surgery, Crews went on to undergo two more procedures. All told, the operations cost her close to $2 million, though most of that sum was covered by insurance as they were deemed ‘necessary’.
According to an interview with Limblength.org, Crews ultimately grew to an 4’11-3/4”, gaining over a foot in height.
“At 4’11’ I’m still really short, but I’m what I call (for myself) a ‘comfortable short’,” she added.
“Being able to just walk up to someone and communicate with my face in the same range as their face has been the biggest game changer for me,” Crews admitted.
“My treatment at RIAO didn’t just change me physically, it changed everything for me.”
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