The Miracle Of Social Media: Man Born Without Thighs Finds Love On Facebook

A Unique Condition

34-year-old Nathan Hrdlicka is one of just 25 people in the world born with Tbilateral Proximal Femoral Focal Deficiency (PFFD) type D – which means his knee bones are directly beneath his hip bones.

Nathan Hrdlicka – who is 1.37m (4ft 6in) tall – has been called a 'midget' but is now happy in a loving relationship with girlfriend Chelsee Stuart.

Not Letting Disability Be A Hurdle

He is the only person with PFFD who has been able to walk despite the challenges. Nathan said: "I don't see myself as different, When people come up to me that's the first thing they are seeing is my disability."

Nathan – who doctors said would have grown to be over 6ft 4in – says his condition brings him a lot of pain. 'There's only 25 people in the world with my condition. It makes me feel pretty unique,' he said.

'As far as I've been told I am the only one who has figured out how to walk. 'I'm not really made to walk so everyday I choose to do that and it comes with a pay off. I'm literally walking on the tips of bones so through out the day that eventually wears me out and brings pain on.'

#3

His PFFD presents him to a lot of comments, some being curious others not so nice about his condition.

"Some of the comments I get are people calling me a midget a lot, which is an uneducated thing," he said. "They also pick at the height thing."

Supportive Partner

The Couple met on a Facebook healing page and there was a immediate spark despite Chelsee's troubles with his height initially.

Chelsee said: 'When we first met I did think the height difference was going to be a sort of problem because this was my first time really being with someone that shorter than me. 'It took us a lot of time to really learn what works and what doesn't work but eventually now everything works.'

But she says she has learnt to accept him for who he is - and the limitations of their relationship.

'One of the biggest challenges that we faced together is I'm a super, super physical person,' she explained. 'I like to go hiking and exploring in the woods and so it would be awesome to do that with my best friend but since endurance is tough on him, he can't really keep up. I have to find other people to do those activities with.'

Nathan is clearly smitten and says Chelsee is a supportive partner.

'Chelsee supports me emotionally as a friend in a way that I never had in my life,' he said.

'When I am sick she is there making sure there is everything she can do to make me feel better. Whether it is just to put a smile on my face or a glass of cold water. '

How Strangers See Our love

The couple says that they do get gazes when they go out together, but there are individuals who can tell they are in love.

Chelsea said: 'Some people are very curious and give us these looks like "What is going on" just because of our height difference and then a lot of people are drawn to us.

'We both are very energetic and vibrant together, so people are more curious and they come up to us and ask questions. They eventually see the love that we have in the friendship that we have.'

Holistic Treatment Helps

Although there is no treatment or cure for his unique condition, Nathan uses holistic medicine to help ease his pain.

He explained: 'This is the only true medical system that's actually stood by me to try to find help that isn't just medicine based. 'This helped everything from my emotional state to being mentored at the centre. I'm trying to through, my own will and body, to find answers for healing and strength.'

The couple has started a jewelry business and hopes to open a 'healing center' in Iceland selling holistic medicine. The minding couple plans to help other people deal with their Pain.

Nathan has started a Gofund Me campaign to raise $25,000 to cover medical expenses.