The Tallest Man On The Earth
A Ukrainian man has been named the world's tallest living person by the Guinness Book of Records, beating the previous record holder by 22cm (8in). Leonid Stadnyk, a 37-year-old former veterinarian from Podolyantsi in central Ukraine, was measured at 2.57m (8ft 5in), the records authority said. He began to grow rapidly aged 14, when an operation on his brain reportedly stimulated his pituitary gland.The previous title holder, Bao Xishun of China, is 2.36m (7ft 9in) tall.
Mr Bao overtook a Tunisian man, Radhouane Charbib, by just 2mm last year.
Frostbite Mr Stadnyk has claimed to be the world's tallest man before, but his record was not verified because he repeatedly refused to be measured by the Guinness Book of Records.
Born to parents who were 1.73m (5ft 8in) and 1.52m (5ft) tall in a tiny village 209km (130 miles) west of the capital, Kiev, Mr Stadnyk was not unusually large as a young boy.
Mr Stadnyk has a lot of trouble buying shoes to fit his feet However, after having an operation to relieve hydrocephalus, which causes the brain to swell with fluid, he began a massive growth spurt. By the time he had qualified as a vet and begun working at a clinic an hour away, Mr Stadnyk measured 2.03m (6ft 8in).He soon outgrew his bike and began taking the bus. He later became too large for the bus and had to use the family's horse-drawn cart.
Mr Stadnyk had to give up his job six years ago, after his feet were frostbitten because he could not afford proper shoes for his size 64 feet. He now tends to his mother's livestock and grows vegetables on their farm in Podolyantsi.
But Mr Stadnyk still has 15cm (6in) to grow if he is to match the tallest man in history.
Robert Wadlow, from the US state of Illinois, measured 2.72m (8ft 11in) when he died in 1940.
PENG SHULIN............FROM
CHINA
He survived against all the odds; now Peng Shulin has astounded doctors by learning to walk again. When his body was cut in two by a lorry in 1995, it was a little short of a medical miracle that he lived. It took a team of more than 20 doctors to save his life. Skin was grafted from his head to seal his torso ?but the legless Mr Peng was left only 78cm (2ft 6in) tall. Bedridden for years, doctors in China had little hope that he would ever be able to live anything like a normal life agan. But recently, he began exercising his arms, building up the strength to carry out everyday chores such as washing his face and brushing his teeth.
Doctors at the China Rehabilitation Research Centre in Beijing found out about Mr Peng's plight late last year
and devised a plan to get him up walking again. They came up with an ingenious way to allow him to walk on his own, creating a sophisticated egg cup-like casing to hold his body with two bionic legs attached to it. He has been taking his first steps around the centre with the aid of his specially adapted legs and a resized walking frame. Mr Peng, who has to learn how to walk again, is said to be delighted with the device.
What a Self-confidence !!!! Great
