TV Scope In Search of Giants RTÉ 2, Thursday, 3rd March 8pmAs someone who, in a pair of high heels, can just about reach the top shelf in the supermarket, I have never really given much thought to the disadvantages of tall stature. I'm all too familiar with the fact that at just 5ft I could never be an air hostess or basketball player but watching this unusual documentary gave me some insight into the psychological and physical issues that confront tall people on a daily basis.
From the outset let me say that when we are talking about tall, we're talking 6ft plus and that was just the women! Although the voiceover on this programme was Irish, the contributors were from the States and Britain. First up was Tom Petrovsky who, at just 7ft, was the tallest in his family of four.
One of his sisters, at 6ft in her bare feet, was the shortest. As children of very tall parents they had been brought up to regard being tall as an advantage and although they were subjected to school yard jibes, on the whole they have fared pretty well. In fact, his height was an advantage when it was time to enrol in a university as many colleges were only too delighted to offer him scholarships on the basis of his inclusion on the basketball team.
Daily living can be a challenge for people of height. Doorways are invariably too low, resulting in constant stooping or banged heads. Beds are never long enough, leading in some tall people having to stick a chair at the end of the bed to accommodate their dangling legs. Being in a relationship with a person of normal stature can also raise a few problems.
Although the majority of people of increased height are perfectly normal, there are some rare genetic conditions that can result in excessive tallness. Klinefelter Syndrome is an inherited condition that results in people growing excessively. Another, even rarer condition, is Marfan's Syndrome. This affects one in 5,000 people and has a range of physical problems associated with it. In addition to the bones in the arms, legs, hands and feet growing disproportionately long, it can also affect the connective tissue, an essential component of all organs in the body.
Problems with the heart's main artery, the aorta, can also occur and some people with the syndrome can suffer from dislocation of the optic lens, resulting in blindness, if left untreated. Children of those with the condition stand a 50:50 chance of inheriting the syndrome.
An even rarer cause of excessive tallness is a benign tumour of the pituitary gland. This gland, situated in the base of the brain, regulates the secretion of growth hormone. A tumour at this site results in too much growth hormone being released into the body. Known as Gigantism, the condition occurs in only 1:2 million people.
Sandy Allen suffers from this rare illness and although now in need of a wheelchair, she stands at 7ft 7.25in. She has only ever had two pairs of shoes in her life as she cannot find any to fit her size 22 feet. At 19 Sandy's tumour was discovered but by that stage she had already grown to her present height. If the problem had been detected earlier, the removal of the tumour would have prevented her over-growth.
A support group known as the Tall Club International is open to men over 6ft 3in and women over 5ft 10in. With 5,000 members it was founded in 1938 to promote tall issues and to arrange social events for tall people. As one contributor said, it gave tall people a chance to look other people in the eye for a change and to dance cheek to cheek.
Although the practical problems of being tall are varied it seems that some aspects are common to all people of height. For example, the three most frequently and in some cases almost daily questions they are asked are: how tall are you?; do you play basketball?; and what's the weather like up there?
Which just goes to show that us shorties are not only lacking in inches but also in imagination!
Marion Kerr is an occupational therapist and freelance medical writer.