Girl reaches over 6 feet tall by age 11

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT/Gray News) - A rare syndrome has caused a young girl in Arkansas to grow to the height of 6 feet tall by age 11.

According to the National Organization for Rare Diseases, experts have only identified around 50 people with Weaver-Smith Syndrome, a genetic condition that causes bone overgrowth.

Addisyon Lumpkin, from Jonesboro, Arkansas, is one of them.

“She was born 23 and a half inches long, and she was 10 pounds and 5.7 ounces,” said Emily Lumpkin, Addisyon’s mother.

Emily Lumpkin was a first-time mother when she had Addisyon 11 years ago.

As her little girl grew, she noticed she was growing fast, but Addisyon’s dad has always been tall.

“I didn’t think much about it until she wasn’t meeting her milestones,” Lumpkin said.

At 3 years old, Addisyon was diagnosed with Weaver-Smith Syndrome.

The syndrome causes bone overgrowth, making people diagnosed with it very tall. It wasn’t until Addisyon was 7 years old that she really understood what was going on.

“My friend comes up to here on me, and she is the same age as me. And she runs across the playground while I’m just ...” she said.

“She was like ‘Mommy, why can I not run like the other kids? Why can’t I do such and such like the other kids? Why am I taller than the other kids?’” said Lumpkin.

A simple outing to the playground for the Lumpkin family takes a few deep breaths and courage from what others may say or think when they see Addisyon.

On average, an 11-year-old would be around 2 feet shorter than Addisyon.

“Because of her height and because of how quickly she has grown, finding clothes for a young girl is difficult,” said her mother.

The syndrome also causes other obstacles, such as learning and physical development. It is difficult for Addisyon to write and keep her balance.

The family is currently addressing obstacles through therapy, which has made Addisyon dream of being a therapist one day.

But some of her other obstacles are more difficult than others, like finding shoes.

Lumpkin said Addisyon goes through four shoe sizes a year.

After reaching out to shoe companies the family was quoted between $600 and $1200 for a pair of custom shoes to fit Addisyon properly.

“Everyone has the right to basic needs and, my goodness, shoes and socks are basic needs, but Addi doesn’t have that right now,” said the mother.

Dealing with bullies has also been a struggle.

“When you know you are not quite the same as others, it’s hard enough, but whenever you don’t have people that accept you as who you are, that’s difficult,” said Lumpkin.

“Do not make fun of people,” added Addisyon.

The Lumpkins said they hope to bring awareness to the rare syndrome and the impacts it is having on their daily lives.

They are also in the process of entering her measurements for the largest feet for a woman in The Guinness Book of World Records.

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