Merhaba! (Hello in Turkish). Hey...I have to keep you on your toes. Fill your mug with some freshly roasted and brewed arabica and coax a virtual treat onto your plate while I tell you about some brothers and sisters who are always on their toes...and their hands.
Walking on all fours might be fun for some, but for the
members of one Turkish family, it’s the only way to move around. Five
siblings of the 19-member Ulas family, from Hatay Province, suffer from a
rare disability – they lack the balance and stability required to stand
up straight, forcing them to move on all four limbs.
The family was
discovered in 2005 – 14 of them appeared to be completely normal, while
five suffered a quadrupedal gait. Scientists have been baffled by the
condition ever since.
The Ulas siblings were featured in a BBC documentary film,
The Family That Walks On All Fours, in 2006. The film revealed that of
the five siblings, two sisters and a brother have only walked on all
fours since birth.
Another brother and sister sometimes manage to walk
upright. “It’s amazing as an example of a strange, strange aberration of
human development,” said Professor Nicholas Humphrey, who visited the
family twice during the documentary. “But their interest is how they can
live in the modern world.”
Living in the modern world with a quadrupedal gait is no
easy task. The siblings are often ridiculed for their disorder, and the
family tries their best to protect them.
The sisters remain indoors most
of the time, spending their time crocheting. One of the brothers, on
the other hand, is more adventurous – he travels to the local village
and interacts with other people.
I will not stoop (oops, bad choice of words there!) to talking about former times of leaving dispenseries of liquid libations in a similar state. Suffice it to say that I am surprised that modern medicine has not been able to offer any curative surgery. Of course, cost could be a factor, too.
See ya, eh!
Bob
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