Fu Wengui, 15, is nothing short of a medical anomaly. The teen, who hails from Beijing, China, has been nicknamed "giraffe boy" for his extraordinarily long neck.
The boy, who suffers from several conditions, claims to have three extra vertebrae, reports the Daily Mail. While normal people have 7 vertebrae, Fu Wengui has 10.
The boy is set to have corrective surgery to help relieve his condition, though it remains unknown exactly how much of his neck doctors can remove without causing serious damage.
The boy's father, Fu Genyou, 50, claims that the boy is in excruciating pain due to his condition. He also claims that it restricts the boy's mobility and handicaps him.
"These [extra three] vertebrae press on the nerves in his neck and make it difficult for him to walk," said the boy's father.
The boy has always had an abnormally long neck, according to his father, but when he was six years old, he was diagnosed with congenital scoliosis and an abnormal chest frame. These conditions are both life-threatening, though congenital scoliosis is much more severe.
Luckily for the boy, a Beijing-based charity is helping to sponsor the surgery, as his family could not afford it otherwise.
When questioned about the surgery, young Fu Wengui simply stated, "I just hope I can have a normal neck."
A surgery is scheduled for later this year, but first doctors at Chaoyang Hospital in Beijing must create a treatment plan.
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