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Thursday, February 4, 2016

Andrew Menas: Growing Tall

Andrew Menas was 4'4" in fifth grade, and kids made fun of him daily. "People look at bigger kids with more respect. They think they have more power," says Andrew's father in a People Magazine article. All his male classmates had grown to be over 5'5" at that time.

Menas had not always been short; as a toddler he was normal, to even above, the average growth rate. Starting in second grade, his height slowly started to fall behind all his male classmates. "He wore the same winter coat for three years," says his mother.

In 1998, a specialist prescribed injections of human growth hormone—a therapy used to boost growth with a chemical derived from the pituitary gland. Most kids who take this drug only grow around 2 inches. However, Andrew grew over a foot.

At Andrew's graduation from Loch Raven High School in Baltimore, Menas stood 5'11" among the tallest people in his class. He stopped taking the medicine in August. "It's changed our lives," says his dad. "The taller the male, the better."

In Andrew's case, doctors predicted in 1998 that he would only be around 5 ft. "We thought, 'Oh my gosh, that would be horrible for a male,'" says Chris Menas. "Girls would be so much taller and, I hate to say it, but even in getting a job it would be a huge disadvantage."

In July 2003, after years of testing, the Food and Drug Administration approved human growth hormone for use by children who, for no known medical reason, have projected adult heights of less than 5'3" for boys and 4'11" for girls. The hormone treatment is expected to sell well, even at a cost of up to $30,000 a year.


-Haley Vanantter 

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