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While oddities are not particularly desirable, miracles
make us happy and strengthen our faith. Unfortunately, many medical
mysteries remain unsolved. They are similar to an intriguing puzzle, but
with most of the pieces missing. They make us realize how much we still
need to learn about something we thought we knew so well: the human
body. Here is my Top 10 list of medical shocking stories that are both
captivating and unbelievable.
10. Polish Railroad Worker Wakes Up From 19-Year Coma

During the 1980’s, Poland was still run by a Communist regime. It was a terrible period of despair, great poverty and confusion.
Polish railway worker Jan Grzebski, suffered a severe head injury while attaching two
train
carriages. He was rushed to the hospital, but the doctors had even more
devastating news for the family: besides the injuries caused by the
work-related accident, Jan Grzebski was suffering from brain cancer. He
fell into a deep coma of 19 years. Doctors didn’t expect him to live
longer than three years. His family had faith that Jan would recover and
his wife Gertruda provided the loving care Jan needed to survive. The
amazing part of this story is that Mr. Grzebski awoke on April, 12, 2007
after 19 years of coma. He awoke to a world of democracy and
capitalism. Mr. Grzebski was surprised to find out that 18 years had
passed since the fall of Communism and that 11 grandchildren couldn’t
wait to hug him. “What amazes me today is all these people who walk
around with their mobile phones and never stop moaning,” he said. “
I’ve got nothing to complain about.”
This memorable statement is the perfect reminder to all of us who
sometimes are complaining too much. Sadly, we often don’t appreciate the
simple things in life until they’re taken away from us.
9. Children with the Werewolf Syndrome

Indian
boy Prithviraj Patil and Thai girl Supatra Sasuphan have dreams and
behave just like other children around the world: they love to be
included in activities and games; they enjoy swimming or painting, and
most of all, eating ice-cream. What makes them different is the fact
that both children were born with congenital
hypertrichosis, known also as the Werewolf Syndrome.
This
terrible disease is very rare and unusual. There have been fewer than
50 cases documented since 1638. The children are suffering from
uncontrollable
hair
growth. Thick animal-like fur covers their head and parts of the body.
Unfortunately, science and medicine haven’t found an answer for their
disease.
It’s so sad to read headlines such as “Half human, half
wolf” or “Real Wolf Kids”. The cruelty doesn’t come from the syndrome,
but from society…
8. Amazing Human Electrical Conductor
Some
people attracted worldwide attention by claiming they can harness the
power of electricity. Jose Rafael Marquez Ayala is one of them. Puerto
Rican Jose Ayala seems to be a human superconductor, because he can
carry huge amounts of electrical current through his body. Jose
withstood various strong electric shocks with absolutely no side
effects. Moreover, he burns paper with his fingers. Is his power real,
or a
hoax? If it is real, it is certainly amazing!
7. Miraculous Recovery After a 47-Story Fall

According
to the NY Daily News, the Moreno brothers, Alcides and Edgar, were
working on a window-washing platform attached to a skyscraper on E. 66th
St.,
New York,
when the platform collapsed on December 7, 2007. The 16-foot-long
aluminum swing to the roof failed. Alcides Moreno cheated death after
falling from the 47
th story of the building, but Edgar didn’t survive.
The
doctors performed at least 16 surgeries, because Moreno broke his ribs,
both legs and right arm, badly injuring the spine. The medical staff
described the victim’s recovery as “miraculous” and “unprecedented.”
Doctors predicted that Moreno’s recovery would be complete in one, two
years.
6. Teen Survives 118 Days Without A Heart

D’zhana
Simmons of South Carolina is literally a walking, talking, medical
miracle. The brave teenager lived for about four months without a heart,
as she awaited a new, functional heart to replace the damaged one.
Simmons suffered from dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), meaning her weak and
enlarged
heart
wasn’t pumping blood efficiently. The surgeons from the Miami Holtz
Children’s Hospital performed an initial transplant on July 2, 2008, but
the heart malfunctioned and had to be quickly removed. Meanwhile,
D’zhana was kept alive by a custom-built artificial blood-pumping
device. “She essentially lived for 118 days without a heart, with her
circulation supported only by two blood pumps,” said
Dr. Ricci, Director of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery.
5. A Life Without Pain

Gabby
Gingras is an energetic 9-year-old girl who is determined to be just
like every other child around her. What makes her different from most of
us, is a rare and extremely unusual disease known as CIPA – congenital
insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis. There are only 100 documented
cases of CIPA around the globe.
Gabby was born without the ability to feel pain, cold and heat. It might seem like an
amazing gift,
but actually it’s a devastating condition. Pain sensitivity is crucial,
because pain works similar to a warning and defense mechanism. Gabby’s
parents noticed something wasn’t right when their daughter was five
months old. She was biting her fingers until they bled. Later on, the
girl lost an eye and severely injured the other one due to excessive
rubbing and scratching. Various measures have been taken to prevent
these types of accidents. The desperate parents are doing their best
under the difficult and challenging circumstances. Brave Gabby was the
subject of a documentary. “A Life Without Pain” by Melody Gilbert. It
tells the powerful story of Gabby Gingras.
4. Allergic to H20

Whether
it’s taking a hot bath, brushing your teeth, cleaning the house, or
simply quenching your thirst, water is an essential part of our daily
routine. We just cannot live without water! That is why it is a wonder
to us that people can be
allergic to water. Believe it or not, some people suffer from extremely rare physical forms of urticaria known as
Aquagenic Urticaria
and Aquagenic Pruritus – both of which are ‘allergic’ reactions to
water. They are so unusual, that only about 30 or 40 cases are
documented worldwide.
Ashleigh Morris (21, Australia) and Michaela
Dutton (23, England) developed a one in 230 million skin disorder –
Aquagenic Urticaria. If their skin comes in to contact with water, itchy
red welts, lumps and blisters appear all over the body. Showering is a
really painful experience for both of them. Michaela cannot drink water,
coffee or tea, she cannot even eat fruits because they trigger the
burning rash on the skin and make her throat swell up, but her body
seems to tolerate Diet Coke. Ashleigh tries to avoid water as much as
possible – she stopped doing sports and any other physical effort that
makes her sweat. Aquagenic Urticaria is so extremely rare, that even
doctors don’t fully understand the complex mechanism behind the bizarre
skin disorder.
3. The Family That Couldn’t Sleep

FFI
is the acronym of a fatal genetic sleep disorder called Fatal Familial
Insomnia. Jay Schadler and Laura Viddy best describe the rare disease: “
Those
affected by FFI are forever trying and failing to fall asleep. The
disease steals one’s sleep, mind and ultimately one’s life, and, before
dying, one hovers for months in a twilight world.”
29-year-old
Cheryl Dinges (left) is one of the members of a family that couldn’t
sleep. Her family carries the gene for Fatal Familial Insomnia, such a
rare condition that it is believed to affect only 40 families worldwide.
Fatal Familial Insomnia killed their mother, grandfather and their
uncle. Cheryl Dinges declined to be tested, even if her sister (right)
didn’t inherit the mutation. FFI begins with mild twitching, panic
attacks and insomnia. In time, patients start to hallucinate and
insomnia
becomes so severe that they totally lack the ability to sleep.
Ultimately, patients develop dementia and, eventually, die. The mutated
protein is called PrP
Sc. If only one of the parents has the mutated gene, there are 50% chances of inheriting and developing FFI.
2. Butterfly Children

The
sad story of Sarah and Joshua Thurmond started when doctors diagnosed
them with Epidermolysis bullosa (EB), another rare genetic disorder that
cause the skin to be extremely fragile. Erosions and
blisters occur because the skin layers lack a fibrous protein that is responsible for anchoring filaments to underlying tissues.
Joshua
suffers from one of the most severe types of EB, Epidermolysis bullosa
dystrophica. Unfortunately, his sister too, but she passed away on Oct.
8, 2009. The disease took her at the age of 20. According to medical
studies, people born with EB have a life expectancy of about 30, maximum
40 years.
“Cotton
Wool Babies”, “Crystal Skin Children” or “Butterfly Children” are the
terms often used to describe the fragile condition of younger patients.
Their skin is as fragile as a butterfly’s wings. The slightest rub can
cause painful wounds. Brave Sarah and Joshua learned to live with
extreme and constant pain. Special bandages help lessen the pain and
prevent infections, but currently, there is no cure for EB. Even if
these children will never know what it’s like to run, swim or jump.
1. Giving Birth to a Mummy

Zahra
Aboutalib, from Morocco, delivered a child she’d been carrying for
almost half a century. This shocking yet fascinating story began in 1955
when Zahra went into labor. She was rushed to a hospital, but after
watching a woman dying on the operation table during a Caesarean
section, Zahra fled back in her small village outside Casablanca. After
the pains were gone and the baby stopped kicking, Zahra considered him a
“sleeping baby”. “Sleeping babies” are, according to Moroccan folk
belief, babies that can live inside a woman’s womb to protect her honor.
When
Zahra was 75, the excruciating pains occurred again. Doctors performed
an ultrasound test and discovered that her “sleeping child” was actually
an
ectopic pregnancy. What is even more amazing is how Zahra survived and how the dead fetus was accepted by the body just like another
organ.
Generally, this doesn’t happen. If not discovered in time, the growing
fetus will eventually strain and burst the organ that contains it. Under
these circumstances, the mother has few surviving chances. After nearly
five hours, the surgeons successfully removed Zahra’s calcified fetus.
Stone
babies, lithopedions, are an extremely rare medical phenomenon.
According to the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, only 290
cases of stone babies have been documented.