The Only Man in History Who Was Both a Dwarf and a Giant

Adam Rainer, the dwarf man who became a giantYorkshireReborn/Twitter

While many people aspire to be different than they are, one such man was Adam Rainer, an Austrian who was born in Graz in 1899 and was a dwarf, but in his 20s, he became a giant. Though Adam was born with the condition of dwarfism, his parents were average-sized.

However, as World War I broke out, Adam was confronted with the reality of his condition as the army turned him down when he tried to enlist. Not only did the army take issue with his short height of 4ft, 6in, but they also rejected him for being too frail. Nevertheless, he tried again a year later after growing 2 inches taller but again, the army rejected him.

Dwarfism is classified as a condition wherein an organism is exceptionally too small. As opposed to humans, the condition primarily affects animals. Nevertheless, a human adult with an average height of 4 feet is considered to suffer from the condition. However, there are exceptions whereby a person could be taller than 4ft and still have the condition.

Though dwarfism is mainly caused by a deficiency in growth hormone, the genetic disorder achondroplasia is characterized by small limbs and is the most recognizable form of dwarfism and accounts for almost 70 percent of all dwarfism cases.

After spending all his life as a dwarf, things suddenly started to change for Adam at the age of 21. What began to happen to him must have been inconceivable for Adam, but merely three years after receiving rejections from the Army, Adam unexpectedly started to grow. A decade later, he grew from 4 feet to 7 feet. However, the astounding growth also came with its own sets of problems. He began developing a severe spinal curvature.

As opposed to dwarfism, gigantism is a condition that is characterized by excessive growth and height that is significantly above average. In humans, the rare condition is caused by the overproduction of the growth hormone, whereas pituitary growth is the primary cause of the growth hormones’ overproduction.

As Adam’s condition was getting out of hand, doctors examining him discovered that he was suffering from acromegaly caused by a tumor on his pituitary gland, which led to the overproduction of growth hormones in his body. Besides the spinal curvature, the condition also wrecked Adam’s body, causing his jaw and forehead to protrude as his lips thickened and his teeth became widely spaced.

According to the Mayo Clinic, there is a difference between gigantism and acromegaly. Too much growth hormone in childhood leads to the increased height, called gigantism. However, in adulthood, a change in height doesn’t occur; instead, a bone size increase limited to the bones of hands, feet, and face occurs and is therefore called acromegaly.

Although doctors operated on Adam, they were unsuccessful in stopping his severe growth. However, despite the failure, they did manage to stall Adam’s growth by slowing the rate of his growth. Unfortunately, his spinal curvature became even more extreme, and Adam’s health deteriorated.

As he battled with his condition over the decades, Adam eventually became blind in his right eye and suffered hearing loss in his left ear. But, despite Adam’s challenges, perhaps the most challenging was becoming bedridden due to his severe spinal deformity.

Adam was 51 and measured 7'10 tall at the time of his death. He is the only man in recorded history to be classified as both a dwarf as well as a giant. He lived a life of two extremes and suffered living in each of them. Whereas one limited him, the other equally left him severely restricted, eventually making him bedridden. While doctors marvel at Adam and the intricacies of the human body, we are once again reminded that the middle lane and not at the extremes is where man best flourishes.