Brendan Adams the World’s tallest teen - Living his dream against the odds

November 6, 2009 by Baby Chums
Filed under: News

Brendan Adams is almost 7-feet-5-inches tall, the tallest teenager on the planet, according to the Guinness Book of World Records and he’s living his dream.

Just like any other male American teen, his dream has been to play in middle school football.

Brendan’s health problems are as formidable and challenging as his height; His body is riddled with tumours. His joints are enlarged. And doctors recently discovered an arrhythmia in his heart and he has arthritis. However, he’s challenging all around him, to be a normal teen.

His sky-scraping height is due to an inversion in chromosome-12, a growth gene. Brendan had all his baby teeth by four months and was as tall as an 8-year old by the time he was 4.

Local station KXLY reported Brendan Adams saying:

“I can’t run anymore,

“I can’t be active as I used to be.”

His football coach, Kevin Wetzel had to be creative to fulfil Brendan’s hopes. Kevin figured that no other player could jump as high as Brendan. So they thought out a play just for him.

Brendan goes about five yards out, reaches his arms up and catches a loft from the quarterback.

Oprah Winfrey invited Brendan onto the show and introduced him to Shaquille O’Neal. Brendan felt that he got some simple wisdom from the basketball star: “Just keep your back straight and have fun.” is what Shaq said to him.

Brendan hasn’t spent much time on the football field, but he’s a part of the team and a teen. That’s what is important to him.