Who is Shauna Rae? Meet the 22-year-old woman 'stuck' in an 8-year-old's body
A 22-year-old woman says she feels like she is 'stuck' inside the body of an eight-year old due to her height. In a new TLC reality series, 'I Am Shauna Rae', the young woman shares her struggles of wanting to be treated like an adult, the changes she wishes to bring about in her life, and how she put her foot down against her parents' restrictions.
Shauna Rae's height is 3 feet 10 inches. When Shauna was a six-month old baby, she was diagnosed with a rare type of brain cancer. She underwent treatment for cancer, but unfortunately, the chemotheraphy affected her pituitary gland which negatively impacted her growth.
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These effects on the gland resulted in Shauna's height not increasing after she turned eight years old. She said, "My pituitary gland was rendered almost dormant because of the chemotherapy. The doctor told me I was done growing. My bones were fused, and my height is 3 feet and 10 inches."
This series premieres on January 11, 2022. In the trailer released by TLC, the day to day life struggles of Shauna are documented.
This trailer starts off with Shauna giving a gist of her life, "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." Here is the video.
She continues by saying, "'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." She went ahead and explained how as a young baby at six months old, doctors diagnosed her with a rare type of brain cancer. She battled and survived it via chemotheraphy but it had its side effects.
In the trailer it is further shown that her mother feels 'guilty' for her daughter's appearance. She admits that watching her daughter struggle has been painful. She says, "I feel, I guess, almost guilty that she will have to go through this for the rest of her life. So all I can do is protect her." Her daughter, on the other hand, has a different opinion.
As shown in the trailer of the upcoming series, Shauna decides to go out with her peers. Her father bombards Shauna with questions like 'who are you going to the brewery with", "who is driving", "when will you be back?"
Shauna admitted that she does 'desire more independence' from her family, but her mom thinks she's not ready to let Shauna go yet.
She's also seen doing 'adult' things like taking pole dancing lessons and enjoying some cocktails. But when she tried working out at a commercial gym and getting a tattoo she was questioned about her age.
