Kenadie Jourdin-Bromley Has Primordial Dwarfism, Mom Struggles To Give Her Normal Life
At 7-years-old, girl weighs just 17 pounds.
March 8, 2011 — -- Kenadie Jourdin-Bromley is a medical wonder, a tiny girl living in a big world.
She stands 33 inches tall and weighs 17 pounds, roughly the size of an 18-month-old toddler. But Kenadie is 7.
Kenadie has an extremely rare form of dwarfism classified as primordial dwarfism, which means, unlike most little people, Kenadie's head and limbs are also proportionally small, giving her a doll-like appearance.
"It's a really, really big world. It's a really big world around her," her mother, Brianne Jourdin, told "Good Morning America."
The average 7-year-old stands a foot taller and weighs three times as much as Kenadie does. Her brother, Tyran, 5, stands head and shoulders above her.
CLICK HERE to see photos of Kenadie.
Click HERE to learn more about the TLC special on Kenadie.
Kenadie Faces Health Challenges
Doctors predict that Kenadie will never be taller than 3½ feet. That's nearly 2 feet shorter than the average U.S. woman.
Kenadie may never get to womanhood. Indeed, most primordial dwarves do not live past their teens.
She will always face serious medical threats because the bones of primordial dwarfs are very thin, putting them at high risk for breaks. There's also the danger of scoliosis, a curvature of the spine and heart issues.
Perhaps the greatest threat to Kenadie -- one that must be watched her entire life -- is the risk of an aneurysm, a bulge in a blood vessel that can suddenly burst and kill.
She was diagnosed with her condition when she was 8 months old, and has aged prematurely as a result.
"It's concerning not to see anybody over the ages of, you know, 20-something with primordial dwarfism," her mother said.
Unlike other dwarfs, primordial dwarfs have what are considered normal proportions, but their growth is retarded almost from the moment of conception.
Kenadie weighed only 2½ pounds when she was born. She measured just 11 inches. Her hand was as big as a quarter, and her foot was only an inch and a half long.
"I just want to hear her cry. … If she cries, then she's alive," Kenadie's mother said she remembered thinking. "And then we just heard this tiny, tiny little meow."
'Thumbelina'
The baby's head was tiny and she was missing part of her brain.
"They told us that with that brain, she wouldn't be able to function. She was never going to walk, never going to talk," Jourdin said.
Kenadie was so small that nurses called her "Thumbelina."
Despite her challenges, Kenadie's mother has fought for her daughter to have as normal as life as she can possibly have.
She attends dance class and goes to a mainstream school. Even though she's in the second-grade, she has the cognitive level of a kindergartner.
"I think that the other kids in her class, they've gotten to the point where they do just see her as another one of the kids," Jourdin said.
She may be a dwarf, but Kenadie has giant emotions and recently experienced mood swings. Jourdin took her daughter to the doctor in search of answers.
Brianne Jourdin feared Kenadie could be experiencing early puberty, but the doctor she consulted found no evidence of that.
For Kenadie's mother, that's good news for now.
"My hope for Kenadie's future -- my biggest hope for her --- is I want her to be happy," Jourdin said. "I want her to smile and be successful."
Click HERE to learn more about primordial dwarfism.