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Vince Brasco, World's Smallest Firefighter, An 87-Pound Dynamo (PHOTOS) Training to be a fireman is a tall order for anyone, but the odds are bigger when you're 4 feet 2 inches tall. Still, Vince Brasco, 19, hasn't let a little thing like height stop him from volunteering at his local fire department in Carbon, Pa., for the past four years, despite being born with achondroplasia, a type of dwarfism that affects bone growth. "I'll never let having achondroplasia stop me from doing anything," he told Barcroft Media. "I just set my mind to something and I go out and do my best. I wanted to be a fireman as a child so as soon as I was old enough to volunteer at 16 I did it. " Achondroplasia is a disability, but it hasn't affected Brasco's ability from going full blaze when it comes to fighting fires.

In fact, when there's a big inferno, Brasco mans the hose at neighborhood blazes with his colleagues, helping to control the high-pressure jets. A bum knee and various medical problems have required him to have 14 surgeries on his left leg. Loading Slideshow. 2013 World Dwarf Games - The largest sporting event in history exclusively for athletes with dwarfism - 2013 World Dwarf Games. The dwarves of Auschwitz | World news.

'I was saved by the grace of the devil," Holocaust survivor Perla Ovitz told us. Again and again, she recounted in detail how she and her family were taken to the gas chamber and ordered to strip naked. A heavy door opened and they were pushed inside. "It was almost dark and we stood in what looked like a large washing room, waiting for something to happen. We looked up to the ceiling to see why the water was not coming. Suddenly we smelled gas. The Ovitz family, from the village of Rozavlea in Transylvania, was the largest recorded family of dwarves: a dwarf father who sired 10 children, seven of them dwarves. Their mother, anxious for her children's future, guided them towards a common skill, a profession in which they could together make a living and would be neither isolated nor ostracised.

Throughout history, dwarves had been entertainers, often part of a circus or vaudeville show. The Ovitzs lived a communal life in one big house in the village. Home. Gary Parker Photography Welcome to the on-line home of Little People of America. Little People of America (LPA) is a nonprofit organization that provides support and information to people of short stature and their families. Download the 2013 poster pdf here. LPA is only able to continue our work with support from members, friends and family. Download a Dwarfism Awareness Facts Sheet here! **NEW Embossed LPA Dwarfism Awareness Bracelets Available! Bracelets are $3.00 each or 4 for $10.00 (which includes shipping). LPA Dwarfism Information CardsHave you ever been somewhere and wished you had a simple card to hand to someone who was maybe just a little bit too curious about you or your child? Starting PointsStarting Points There are many local resources for people with disabilities and their families that LPA members may find helpful to contact when needing assistance to access healthcare, education, employment, and assistive technology.

LittlePeopleofAmer. Someday It Won’t Matter If I’m Not Short. It is a unique experience to attend a dwarfism convention. The tall are the people who need to adapt. Not as much as it could be, that would be quite expensive as hotels, and malls, and restaurants are built for the average stature. Even the handicapped accommodations in public restrooms have taller toilet seats and longer sinks. Still, I’ve never personally heard anyone complain. Ever.

I’ve never heard one of my friends blurt out in a grocery store, “Why do they put those cans so darn high?” Persons of short stature have never asked the world to change unreasonably for them. But that’s it…just that one thing is all that I need to do and that is only for one dinner. Like this: Like Loading... DisABILITY In Media. Jenovesia Porteo. Dwarfism Awareness Month | Video. Dwarf Basketball Team Aims to Create Little NBA. (Jan. 25) – When you play for the New York Towers – New York's all-dwarf basketball team – you hear this question a lot: Do you play on a regular-size court? It's a question that irks some little people. Dwarfs don't drive miniature cars. They don't live in dollhouses. Why wouldn't they play basketball like everybody else? "The concept itself is hard for some average-size people to think about – small people playing a big man's game," says Clinton Brown III, the team's 3-foot, 3-inch general manager.

"It just goes to show you that with a little bit of fortitude and heart you can accomplish what you desire. " Still, the Towers aren't just out to prove that they can put the ball through the hoop. "When you see the way we play, a lot of people are going to be taken by surprise," Brown says. The Towers' tallest player is just 4-foot-8, but that doesn't mean they won't play an average-size team in an exhibition game. Six-foot-tall Allen Iverson is the shortest player ever to win MVP honors. Dwarfism Awareness Month Press Release. For Immediate Release: Contact:September 13, 2012 Leah Smith, Vice President of Public Relations 806.239.5582, Leah Smith LITTLE PEOPLE OF AMERICA ANNOUCES DWARFISM AWARENESS MONTHWITH PSA IN TIMES SQUARE ON CBS SUPER SCREENDwarfism Support Organizations and Assemblywoman Calhoun come together for powerful message Little People of America (LPA), the largest dwarfism support organization in the world, will be hosting a news conference to launch the 2012 Dwarfism Awareness Month at the Hilton Times Square Hotel,234 West 42nd St.

,New York,NY 10036. The news conference is scheduled for Sunday, September 23, 2012 at 1:00 p.m in the Bijou Room. Since 2009, LPA has been recognizing October as Dwarfism Awareness Month with the intention of raising positive awareness around dwarfism, addressing common misconceptions and increasing opportunities for people with dwarfism around the country. About. I have a son who is funny, adorable, smart and just happens to be a Little Person. He was born with Achondroplasia; it is the leading cause of dwarfism. Thanks to many hard-working and talented people, the public at large has become more familiar with persons of short stature. Still, there are many misconceptions, misunderstandings and questions that average stature people have. I’d like to answer some of them. • Around 80% of babies born with dwarfism come from average stature parents. • They are of the same intelligence as the more general public. • They are surgeons, lawyers, teachers, athletes, artists, journalists, and almost every other profession you can think of. • The unemployment rate is higher than any other able-bodied group of people. • The “M” word, or “midget”, is offensive to most little people.

It does not refer to any one type of dwarfism. Here are some myths: I answer questions on a daily basis, practically, about my son. Soooo…. Dwarf Aware | Dwarfism Awareness Project. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine - Multiple trauma in the achondroplastic dwarf: An emergency medicine physician perspective case report and literature review. To view the full text, please login as a subscribed user or purchase a subscription. Click here to view the full text on ScienceDirect. Abstract Although uncommon, the achondroplastic dwarf (AD) may become the victim of multiple trauma, presenting special challenges for the emergency department (ED) physician. Traditional management of airway, breathing, circulation, and neurological disability is altered by the unique anatomic features of achondroplasia. Despite facial abnormalities observed in the AD, orotracheal and nasotracheal intubation are usually accomplished without particular difficulty; however, abnormalities of the base of the skull and cervical spine make hyperextension of the neck especially hazardous in these patients.

The lungs are functionally normal, although vital capacity is decreased and thoracic case abnormalities and abdominal obesity impair lung expansion. To access this article, please choose from the options below. Brain and Development - Irreversible respiratory failure in an achondroplastic child: The importance of an early cervicomedullary decompression, and a review of the literature. 1 Service for Child Neuropsychiatry, Verona University, Verona2 Service for Neurologic, Verona University, Verona3 Service for Pediatric Clinic, Verona University, Verona4 Department of Neurosurgery, “Borgo Trento” Hospital, Verona5 Department of Neuroradiology, “Borgo Trento” Hospital, Verona6 “La Nostra Famiglia” Institute, “Ca’ Foncello” Hospital, Treviso6 Pediatric Division, “Ca’ Foncello” Hospital, Treviso Received 6 February 1991, Accepted 15 May 1991, Available online 26 April 2012 Choose an option to locate/access this article: Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution Check access Get rights and content The authors report the case of a girl with achondroplasia suffering from a progressively worsening hypotonic quadriparesis.

CT scan showed slight dilatation of ventricular and subarachnoid spaces, with well-defined evidence of cortical sulci and gyri.