People with the Strangest Medical Conditions

When it comes to the human body, it seems that the medical field is making new strides every day. But as soon as an accomplishment is made, someone else comes along that defies medical studies and have to be looked at. Unknown medical conditions, especially ones that appear later in life, can be alarming and downright scary because it exposes our vulnerabilities and makes us realize that we are not immortal or perfect. Weird medical conditions can also be very humbling for both the sufferer and the observer since there isn’t much that can be done about these conditions. Sometimes these condition causes life to end prematurely, or it makes a quality of life unbearable. In this video are ten people who shouldn’t have existed. From where medical conditions to life-threatening states, these people defied medical books and have shown the scientific world that there are certain things that are indeed possible. For example, two men by the name of Ian Toader and Dede Koswara defied medical studies with their skin condition called Epidermodysplasia verruciformis, causing bark-like warts to grow on their bodies, thus naming them “The Tree Men”. Imagine not being able to hold a utensil to eat or write, because there was bark growing from your hands? Of course, one of the oldest cases of medical conditions is Joseph Merrick, famously known as “The Elephant Man”. Joseph had an odd deformity all over his body, which caused his bones to develop odd lumps and his skin and face to swell. His skeleton still stands in a hospital in London today, where it is studied. Despite being dead for over one hundred years, Merrick still baffles medical experts. There is a medical condition called progeria, which causes premature aging. People who suffer from this condition typically don’t make it past their teenage years, as they have the body of an elderly person by then. It is a real life case of Benjamin Button or the movie, “Jack” starring Robin Williams (in a less glamourous way). Not many people have progeria, so the ones who do are typically thrown into the media spotlight for all to see. What if all you could do was sleep? That’s what has happened to Beth Goodier, who sleeps for 22 hours a day. Even when she is awake for 2 hours, she is in a child-like state and doesn’t get much accomplished. The condition, known as Sleeping Beauty Syndrome, started when she was a teenager and hasn’t improved much, despite being in her twenties. Beth states that it isn’t a great life sleeping all the time and she feels like she has missed out on a lot in life. Imagine living a life where your skin causes an immense amount of pain. That is the life of 14 year old Jonathan Pitre, who is also known as the Butterfly Child. His skin is so fragile that anything can make it blister and tear, which means that he can’t play sports or even live a normal life. He lives vicariously through sports teams, and has dedicated a lot of his time towards research for his condition. The cases in this video only get more incredible. Check out the rest of this video for more people who defy the medical world!