Proteus Syndrome, The Elephant Man,

The boy with frozen bones

I know this is an illness and yes I have put it under the weird category, the reason for this is because the human body takes so much shit when you think about it, so many illnesses, so many diseases, I mean come on where do these weird illnesses come from. Proteus syndrome is a congenital disorder that causes skin overgrowth and atypical bone development, often accompanied by tumours over half the body. Since Dr. Michael Cohen identified it in 1979, [1] only a few more than 200 cases have been confirmed worldwide, with estimates that about 120 people are currently alive with the condition.[2] There may be many more than this, but those individuals correctly diagnosed usually have the most obvious manifestations of Proteus syndrome, leaving them severely disfigured. Proteus syndrome is named after the Greek sea-god Proteus, who could change his shape.


There was a program about the boy with frozen bones which shows nine year-old Jordan who is full of hope and vitality. But Jordan’s body is not ordinary. He was born with a rare genetic condition called Proteus Syndrome, the same condition that afflicted John Merrick, The Elephant Man.