The real-life Thumbelina: Tiny Harleigh Jackson, 6, stands at just half the height of her best frien
The real-life Thumbelina: Tiny Harleigh, 6, stands at just half the height of her best friend because of rare form of dwarfism
- Diminutive youngster was born with Russell Silver Syndrome
- The rare growth disorder affects one in 75,000 genes
- Mother Karina said: 'She's so determined, even though she's so tiny'
- Family are supporting Jeans For Genes Day on September 20
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She might be small in stature, but tiny Harleigh Jackson, who was born with a rare type of dwarfism, knows she can stand tall next to her best friend Taylor.
Both girls are aged six, yet the diminutive youngster only comes up to her friend’s waist.
Wearing clothes suitable for two-year-olds, the real-life Thumbelina has to stand on a special stool to reach the sink and lives in a specially-adapted home.
Standing tall: Six-year-old Harleigh Jackson is the same age as her friend Taylor, but half her height
But even though she may be tiny, her proud parents say it is Harleigh who rules the roost at their house in London.
Her mother Karina, 26, said: ‘Harleigh may be small, but she’s really cheeky and has lots of attitude. She knows what she wants and she is the boss in our house.
‘She has a big appetite too, even though her stomach is so tiny. She loves chicken korma and her favourite is chinese takeaway.’
Doctors first noticed that something was wrong with Harleigh when Karina went for a scan seven weeks into the pregnancy.
Karina, who lives with fiance Anthony Jackson, 28, an electrician, said: ‘I went for my scan and doctors couldn’t see Harleigh at all as she was so small.
‘They suspected I might have suffered a miscarriage, but told me to come back in another two weeks for a further scan.
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Share'It was a nerve-wracking two weeks as I had already suffered from one miscarriage.
‘When I had the next scan she was only just visible on it, so I was still pregnant but the doctors were worried that she had some growth problems.’
At 22 weeks, Harleigh was still so small that doctors offered Karina a termination, but she refused.
She said: ‘They knew that something was seriously wrong as she wasn’t growing, but they didn’t know what. So they offered me a termination.
'I refused as I wanted to give her a chance.
‘She was still my baby, even if she did have something wrong with her, and I was prepared to deal with anything.
'I’d lost one baby, I wasn’t prepared to lose another.’
Harleigh with her mother, Karina and (right) aged two, when she was just the size of a newborn baby
Harleigh pictured with her cousin, Lily, who at two-years-old is as tall as her petite cousin
Harleigh was born in October 2006 at St George’s Hospital in London.
She was full term, but she weighed only a little more than 4Ibs.
Karina said: ‘She looked perfectly formed, but she was so tiny.
'She had problems breathing, so she was whisked off to intensive care.
'We were allowed to see her and we were just praying that she would survive.’
Harleigh was allowed home from hospital after five weeks, but she still only weighed 5Ibs.
Scans and x-rays had been carried out, but doctors still could not find any explanation for her tiny size.
Karina Jackson, 26, was aware her baby was not growing in the womb, but refused a termination
Over the next 12 months, Harleigh had numerous tests and continued to stump medical experts.
But when she turned one, she was diagnosed with Russell Silver Syndome, a rare growth disorder that occurs in one in 75,000 births.
It is a type of dwarfism and its cause is unknown.
Karina said: ‘It was just such a relief to get an answer at last as to what was wrong with Harleigh.
'She hadn’t got much bigger from the day she was born, so we knew there was something seriously wrong.
‘But when we were told what it was, we weren’t upset.
'It was as though a weight was lifted from our shoulders. It had been awful not knowing what was wrong with her.’
The couple have since adapted their house for their real-life Thumbelina.
Harleigh has a special stool so that she can reach the sink and cupboards and coat hooks have been placed at a height where she can reach them.
She also has a bike specially adapted for her tiny body.
‘Other children her age tower over her - she is half their size. And when I’m out with her, people can’t believe she’s nearly seven years old.
Small, but determined: Harleigh's mother says what the little girl lacks in size, she makes up for in attitude
‘But she’s so determined, even though she is so tiny. She is smaller than everyone else her age, but what she lacks in size she makes up for in attitude.
'She has a tiny little voice and her legs are like a sparrows. But she has a will of iron.
‘She’s a little girl with a big personality and she doesn’t let anything hold her back.’
Harleigh and her family are supporting the Jeans for Genes Day on September 20, which supports families affected by genetic disorders.
Small blessing: A scan showing just how tiny Harleigh Jackson was in her mother's womb
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