80 centimeters of happiness of the Kursk Thumbelina: how the smallest girl in Russia lives

Polina’s family lives in the village of Glushkovo, Kursk region. The girl studied at the most ordinary school, and on May 23, for her, like all her peers, the last bell rang.

Polina has a rare diagnosis – anauxetic dysplasia. There are only 8-10 such cases in the world now, and in our country it is one. The disease is genetic, caused by a gene mutation.

I must say, such a feature of her does not prevent Polina from feeling equal with her peers. She is a very active and businesslike girl. And a creative person. And a few years ago she was invited to star in the TV series “Dr. Richter”, and after these shootings she wants to become an actress, well, or participate in some TV shows, concerts of stars … But this is still a dream. And the first of her “dreams” is to star with her favorite actor Pavel Priluchny. Or at least get to know him.

And it’s not to say that her small stature is a disease. She has never taken any medication and does not take it, she does not need constant treatment. It just makes her so special…

“MK” talked with her mother Natalia and Polina about her life.

“Polina was immediately born with a pathology, because at birth her height was only 42 cm,” says Natalya. “But we were diagnosed only three years later. We traveled to all the Kursk hospitals, went around all the doctors – an endocrinologist, genetics, orthopedists … Then we were sent to Moscow to the CITO, the RCCH, we passed many different tests. We were given various diagnoses, up to the most terrible ones. And the correct diagnosis was made only in St. Petersburg. Our doctors before Polina had never encountered such cases before. And children’s doctors from foreign countries with whom we spoke told us that they know of eight such cases in the world.

… Polina grew up as the most ordinary child. The only feature that she had was congenital dislocations of the hip joints. The girl underwent three operations in St. Petersburg. She spent a whole year in a cast, but bravely endured it all. “They put her legs in their place,” says Natalya. And after that the child went to a regular kindergarten.

In kindergarten, there was still no noticeable difference between Polina and other children, all were small in stature …

But about the first class, the parents had big doubts.

“We have a three-story school, there are a lot of children, so we were afraid that it would be uncomfortable and dangerous for her,” my mother continues. “So we left her homeschooled. But Polina could not understand why she should stay at home, do some homework when all her peers go to school? And she persuaded us to let her try to go to school to be like everyone else.

We agreed with the administration, and we were allowed to visit the school a couple of times a week. Polina looked there, realized that there are many children there, there are lessons, changes. And she said: buy a briefcase, I will go to school.

In the first grade, Polina was almost the same height as now. Approximately 76 cm.

– How does the physical feature of Polina differ from such a disease as “achondroplasia”? (Abnormally short human height – for men 130 cm, for women 120 cm, in other words, dwarfism, but such a term offends these people very much – AUT.).

– Such people have short arms and legs, and their height is more than a meter – 1.10, 1.30 or even 1.40. These people are able to live normal lives. They move independently, use transport, walk the streets, go to shops. And imagine a two-year-old child, that is, this is Polina’s height – how can he go to the checkout, get a product from the shelf? At 80 centimeters, it is quite difficult. Neither open the door, nor enter the transport. I took Polina to school …

After the girl graduated from elementary school, her mother became worried that she would not be able to move from classroom to classroom on a par with other children. But the administration went to meet them: the class in which Polina studied was assigned an office. From the first grade, her mother helped her carry a portfolio with textbooks, and in the senior classes, her classmates …

How did the children treat her? Did she have friends at school?

– Certainly. The children in her school are normal, kind. With someone she made friends since kindergarten. The children treated her like an ordinary girl. Just small in stature. In the lower grades, the difference between Polina and the rest of the students was not particularly felt. Then, somewhere in the seventh or eighth grade, when her classmates began to grow up, some misunderstandings, disagreements already began to appear … Polina did not fit their standard. But now, by the 11th grade, it all leveled off so much that they saw in her the same girl as themselves. She has girlfriends, everything is fine.

Polina has a dad who supports her in everything, and an older brother (he is 21 years old). Polina’s brother is now studying at a military institute and lives in another city.

“They have a good, warm relationship,” says Natalia. – He dreamed of a sister, was delighted when she was born. They are very friendly. He always helped us with her – and stayed to sit with her, and walked, and played, and helped with the lessons. And now at a distance he supports her even more. He comes to us when he has a vacation.

***

Polina, tell us about yourself. How did you study at school, what were your favorite subjects? What are you interested in?

– The grades were average – both good and not very good (Polina has a gentle childish voice, – AVT.). Of the subjects, I liked literature the most. As a child, I went to drawing, dancing, doing crafts from ribbons. I was even a laureate of the All-Russian competition “I am the Author”, which was held in Moscow near Tsereteli. I exhibited my creations there.

– What would you like to do in life? Where will you do?

– I’m still thinking. I don’t pass the exam, since we live in the border area. I will take internal exams at the institute. While we are considering different options.

– I know that you starred in one of the episodes of Dr. Richter in 2019. Tell me, how did you get into the series? Is this where you have a photo with Alexei Serebryakov?

– Yes, it’s a photo from the shooting. We were in St. Petersburg, where one girl of the same small stature organized a festival of little people. The directors saw my photos and offered to star in the series. Of course, we gladly agreed. That’s how they got into the series. We came to test in Moscow, and I was approved for the role.

– Who did you play?

– I played myself, a girl with a rare diagnosis. Dr. Richter’s task was to find a magic cure that triggers the growth process. In the series, I seemed to be cured, and everything became fine.

“Maybe you would like to continue filming then?”

– Well, I want, of course, to star in TV shows, films … But so far there are no offers. My favorite actor is Pavel Priluchny. I like the way he plays, I like his roles.

– Do you have friends, girlfriends? You, probably, many write in social networks?

– Yes, there are girlfriends, of course. And in social networks, even strangers often write to me, wishing me all the best. I will respond as soon as I can, thank you. Many people want to meet and make friends. No one is surprised at me anymore, everyone knows me, everyone treats me well.

– At home, probably, everything is thought out for you?

– Yes, of course, everything is adapted for me at home, so that it is convenient for me to do everything. I have my own washbasin, there is an approach to the bathroom so that I can use it myself. All my things are in the bottom drawers and shelves, and so on…

– It seems to me that the main thing is to be self-confident in order to live a rich life. And you live like this … By the way, are you offended when the press calls you “Thumbelina”?

– No, of course, I’m not offended at all.

Thank you Polina, all the best to you! May all dreams come true…

***

But, of course, the family in which such a charming Thumbelina lives has enough difficulties. And the main ones are yet to come. It is only in magazines and newspapers that everything is smooth and happy. It was childhood and school years, and ahead of all her peers, adult life awaits …

“You see, she is now ending the period of her collective life,” my mother says. – Now all her peers will leave the village to study. She, of course, would also like to study, like everyone else, to go somewhere, become a student, live a student life … But with her growth, she will not be able to be independent. Therefore, she will have to study in absentia, at home. And she is very worried that she will be left without friends …

And plus, of course, our main problem is that August 8 is her birthday, she will be 18 years old. And our disability group is changing from child to adult. And I don’t understand who writes all these laws? Now it turns out like this: as her mother and guardian, I receive an allowance for caring for her. If after the age of 18 she is given, say, the first group of disability, then I remain a guardian. And if the second or third, then I’m nobody to her. And then I kind of need to go to work, but at the same time I have to constantly be with her. Help in everything.

She calls me, for example, and says: Mom, I can’t get the pan out of the refrigerator. Mom, I can’t get the kettle out because it’s full. And everything like that. The difficulties are different. Or – mom, I want to go there, the girls are waiting for me. And she can’t get there without me. And it turns out that I can’t go to work in any way …

If we fail with the first group of disability, then of course I will fight. I will be filing an appeal.

– Why can they give the second group after 18 years?

– Children are given a child disability, after 18 years it changes. I started to get interested in this issue in advance, I collect documents … I was told that she would most likely be given a second group. In general, she is entitled to the third. I think: how is the third? Is that what they say, based on her videos, how does she take pictures or walk somewhere, jump? And in our country, the first group is given to those children who cannot take care of themselves … But they do not see that she cannot do many things without the help of loved ones. So we have to fight with the commission. I will strive for them to see her with their own eyes, I will take her there …

Short people with achondroplasia, for example, have, basically, the second, third group of disability. And, let’s say, I talked with Tasha Mayakovskaya (probably heard, the model is small), she is a little higher than Polina, a couple of centimeters, and she has the first group …

– Excuse me for asking, but what do you think about her future life? I so want to wish her that she has a close friend, a life partner …

Of course we are thinking about it. I think she likes someone. You know, there is one boy from our area, he is older, and Polina and I invited him to dance a waltz with her at the graduation. Because she really wants to dance the waltz. And now they are rehearsing with him, preparing for graduation, which will be on June 24th.

I hope she has a personal life.

We communicate with the same small people as Polina. There is, for example, Anton Kruglov, he takes part in circus performances and in KVN. We communicate in this circle, I tell them all the time: “Guys, what if you need even less crumbs for something, don’t forget about us.”

For me, the main thing is that she does not stay at home. I also tell her: Polina, start your own blog and write in it! ..

… Natalia would like more people to know about her daughter. And she was sad that the last time they received such increased attention was when Polina went to first grade, that is, ten years ago. We promised that we would let the world know about this unique girl more often! About all the important events in her life. After all, how much strength of mind and stamina is in this baby, that she never loses heart and tries with all her little strength to live a full life. He tries in no way to concede to his tall peers. And he lives an even brighter and richer life than many of those who are under 1.80 …