:: Running from the Thought Police ::

:: Monday, May 10, 2004 ::

Really Odd

Toddler with a genetic disorder is incapable of feeling pain.

When Gabby teethed, she gnawed on her fingers until they were bloody. One day, as her father massaged her gums with his finger, she bit him, hard. When he reflexively yanked his finger back, one of Gabby’s teeth came with it. She didn’t cry.

When it comes to pain, she never does.

An extremely rare nerve disorder called hereditary sensory autonomic neuropathy Type 5 keeps pain sensations from reaching Gabby’s brain. Gabby, now 3, simply does not feel injuries that would make others cry out.

That might not sound so bad to anyone who has ever stubbed a toe. But it’s ruinous for Gabby’s health.

Pain is what keeps a child from poking her finger straight into her eye, as Gabby has done, repeatedly. Pain is why we limp to favor a twisted ankle, so it can heal. Pain teaches children to recoil from a hot stove.

When Gabby was teething, “she would chew on her fingers until they were bloody,” her father, Steve Gingras, recalled. “She would chew on her tongue like bubble gum.”

Don't you wish they told you about these types of disorders in HS? I bet you'd be more interested in biology if you knew about stuff like this.

:: The Squire 3:55 AM :: email this post :: ::
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