06 March 2023 , 12:05
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Being different really is a superpower, and this one-of-a-kind family knows just what it feels like to stand out from the crowd. Dannia Shabbir is the only female in the world living with chromosome translocation - a rare genetic condition that means she will always look four-years-old.
When Dannia was born 19 years ago, medics noticed that she was smaller than average and had a low body temperature and low blood sugar. Genetics took one look at her and labelled her "funny-looking", before diagnosing her with the uncommon genetic phenomenon - which has only ever been recorded in three boys.
Mum Aleisha didn't know what to expect when medics diagnosed her baby with a rare condition (SWNS)Despite the challenges that come with being non-verbal and weighing 17kg, Dannia is a very happy and easy-going teen.
Aleisha, 56, from Fareham, said: "I'd like to raise more awareness for Dannia's genetic makeup. This is who she is as a person.
"That's the way God made her. She's so easy-going, she's so happy all the time and she loves people more than toys.
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"The geneticist did full genetic testing after she was born and found it was chromosome translocation in chromosome 20.
"They said there were only 4 reported cases globally, all of those boys and she was the first girl. The boys have never survived and they don't know and still don't know what Dannia is going to do."
Aleisha claims that when geneticists first came to look at Dannia and investigate the issue, they said, "Ooh, doesn't she look funny" - which left her reeling.
19-year-old Dannia will always look four-years-old due to her chromosome disorder (SWNS)Despite struggling to come to terms with the news after giving birth, the mum says Dannia has proved her completely wrong.
"When you're pregnant, you think 'when she gets to this age, she'll do this," Aleisha said.
"Because I didn't understand it, I had visions of Dannia being completely lifeless but actually she's not like that."
The family receive abuse from strangers in the street who don't know about Dannia's condition - they are often videod on camera and shouted at for using disabled bays.
As Dannia's wheelchair is similar in style to a pushchair, this further adds to the misunderstanding the family experience.
Aleisha said: "In public, people don't know what is wrong with her – she's severely disabled and she can't walk or anything, she's got a blue badge.
They often receive abuse in the street and Aleisha was once kicked off a plane by staff (SWNS)"We get out of the car and get her version of a wheelchair and then we get verbally attacked with people saying we shouldn't park there.
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"I've had people so close to me that I couldn't open the door, or people standing there with their cameras taking pictures of me."
The mother-and-daughter pair have even been kicked off a plane before because staff didn't know how to support them.
"We were removed from a flight to Morocco because of her size - it was really awful and hugely embarrassing," Aleisha explained.
"We called before and explained we had a letter from her consultant saying she can't sit unaided in an aircraft seat and would need to sit in a lap.
Dannia has exceeded her mum's expectations and lives a very happy, care-free life (SWNS)"They then decided because of her age she couldn't sit in our lap and we needed to buy her a seat - but wouldn't sell us a seat as she was deemed too small to sit in it.
"The captain came out and said he wasn't happy, they unloaded our bags, got us off the plane and walked us all the way through the airport to the door."
Even though it's not always smooth-sailing, Dannia loves to travel and Aleisha says her favourite place in the world is "floating in a pool in Dubai".
"She does really well in the heat, better than the cold," Aleisha added. "We take her everywhere, she's been to so many places - her body temperature runs a degree below ours.
"She's been in 50 degrees before with no problem, that's just her."
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