'Bionic girl' who doesn't feel pain or hunger dragged by car and 'walked away'

04 December 2023 , 13:01

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Olivia Farnsworth, pictured in 2016, may be 'the only one in the world' with the symptoms from the rare genetic condition (Image: Huddersfield Examiner)

A young girl who was dubbed “bionic” after she was hit and dragged by a car but calmly got up and walked off afterwards has a genetic condition so unique she may be the only person in the world with the symptoms.

Olivia Farnsworth, who was just seven years old during the accident, is now a teenager and is still leaving doctors baffled. She feels no pain, barely eats or sleeps, and has "no sense of danger" thanks to her rare condition known as chromosome 6 deletion.

Her mum, Niki, says she realised her daughter was different from a young age when as a baby Olivia didn’t cry or grow any hair. She later became a fussy eater and ate nothing but butter sandwiches for a year because her lack of hunger meant threats that if she didn’t eat healthy food she would get nothing were rendered meaningless.

Olivia, from Huddersfield, escaped virtually uninjured when she was hit by a car (Huddersfield Examiner)

Speaking of the moment the full extent of Olivia’s uniqueness was revealed, Niki said: “She got run over and dragged down the street by a car and she didn’t complain. She was dragged about ten car lengths down the road. It was horrendous, I don’t think it’s something I will ever get over.

“I was screaming and all my other children were screaming as she ran out. But Olivia was just like, ‘What’s going on?’. She just got up and started walking back to me. The hospital said she’s bionic. Because of the impact she should have had severe injuries.”

Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him

But despite the horrific incident leaving Olivia with tyre marks on her chest and no skin on her hip, doctors who gave her CT scans and x-rays realised there were no other injuries. They credited the miraculous survival to the fact Olivia didn’t tense up upon the impact, reports Yorkshire Live.

“To look at Olivia you don’t know anything’s wrong with her. I want people to know and to stop judging,” Niki, who wants to raise awareness of the condition, added. “She’ll be the first to share her sweets with you. She’s got the best personality. She’s just crazy, but in a good way. Everybody laughs because she’s so wild and extreme. She says let’s jump off here and all the other children are like, ‘That’s way too high!’.”

The family is supported by chromosome disorder support group Unique. Chief executive Dr Beverly Searle said Olivia was the only case they had heard of in the world. She added: “There may not be anybody out there the same as Olivia.”

Nick Lavigueur