She "desperately" wants to be treated as a grown up. Photo / TLC
She "desperately" wants to be treated as a grown up. Photo / TLC
At 1.16m tall, Shauna Rae is the average height of an eight-year-old.
However the US woman is actually 22 and is often mistaken for a child after treatment for cancer stunted her growth.
At just six months old Shauna was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer and underwent chemotherapy, she reveals in a trailer for her upcoming reality show with TLC, I Am Shauna Rae.
"My pituitary gland was rendered almost dormant because of the chemotherapy," Shauna says.
"The doctor told me I was done growing. My bones were fused, and my height is three feet and 10 inches (1.16m)."
As a result Shauna feels "stuck" in the body of an eight-year-old, with the trailer for her upcoming show documenting her attempts to go to a bar, gym and get a tattoo but being stopped because of her stature.
"If you were to look at me, you would think I'm just a normal little girl, doing normal little girl things with my fun, crazy family," Shauna said.
"But the truth is I'm not a little girl. I'm a woman, a 22-year-old woman stuck in the body of an eight-year-old."
Shauna Rae is the average height of an eight-year-old but is actually 22. Photo / TLC
Shauna also finds dating difficult, with a blind date set up for the show asking whether he was "being punked or something" after meeting her for the first time.
"My relationship status is single," Shauna said.
"I attract creeps, a**holes, and idiots. It is scary to put myself out there, but you have to put some risk in to get happiness."
While Shauna feels her parents are too overprotective, her mum argues that "all I can do is protect her".
"I feel, I guess, almost guilty that she will have to go through this for the rest of her life," Shauna's mum says.
But the mum admits that while she doesn't "know if I am ready to let her go" she acknowledges Shauna "needs to be let go".
"Even though I physically can't grow up, I desperately want to be treated like a grown-up," Shauna says.
Children who have chemotherapy for cancer treatment often experience a slowdown in growth, however, the change is usually only temporary.
