The real life seven dwarfs: Meet the Johnstons - the largest family of achondroplasia dwarfs in the world
By Rachel Quigley
PUBLISHED: 17:57 GMT, 4 May 2012 | UPDATED: 20:09 GMT, 4 May 2012
To the outside world, they may look different from everyone else.
But for the Johnston family, the only difference between them and everyone else is that they are a little smaller.
Amber and Trent Johnson, from Barnesville, Georgia, and their five children are the largest family of achondroplasia dwarfs, with a type of dwarfism that affects the extremities.
From left: Sisters Elizabeth and Ana, husband Trent and wife Amber, brother Jonah and sister Emma, and Alex from South Korea
The True Seven Dwarfs: From left, biological child Elizabeth, Ana from Siberia, Jonah, mom Amber, dad Trent, Alex from South Korea and Emma from China
Brad and Angelina of Little People: Friends have compared the Johnstons to the famous couple because of how they embrace the heritage and culture of each of their children
They call themselves 'the real life seven dwarfs' and embrace their size, and say they 'strive to raise their children in the world that's not built for them'.
Speaking to Barbara Walters for tonight's ABC's 20/20, the Johnstons explain why they go to extremes to try to keep things normal for their five children. Instead of adapting their home to fit the family, who are no more than four feet tall, they instead encourage their children to overcome the hurdles - for example, placing step stools to help them reach cupboards and attaching sticks to light switches.
Trent and Amber met at a little people's convention, dated for almost four years and married. Five months later Amber was pregnant.
Trent came from a family of dwarfs, but Amber's family were full size. They knew there was a possibility that their first child could be full size, but at 31 weeks discovered Jonah also had achondroplasia dwarfism.
They were very happy as they wanted kids who were 'like them', they said.
The birth of their second biological child Elizabeth was very traumatic for Amber - at one point she was only 48 inches tall but measured 51 inches around.
They both wanted a big family, but instead of putting Amber at any more risk with another traumatic pregnancy they decided to adopt to extend their brood of dwarfs.
Multi-cultural: The Johnston children are a mix of American, Siberian, Chinese and South Korean
Sister act: Blonde sisters Ana and Elizabeth give younger sister Emma from China a kiss on the cheek
Anderson show: The news anchor and talk show host brought the family in for a chat about being real life dwarfs
Soul mates: Amber Stormer Johnston and Trent Johnston met at a little people's convention, dated for almost four years, got married and had two biological children
Dwarfs are often put up for adoption and are also treated badly in other countries because of their difference.
Amber and Trent decided to adopt three children from different parts of the world - Ana from Siberia, Alex from South Korea and Emma from China.
When Elizabeth was in third grade, bullies called her a midget. She simply told them: 'That's how God made me - that's how he loves me.'
No comments:
Post a Comment