Hypertrichosis_Hallie_LeMalefant

Hypertrichosis: Growing up with Werewolf Syndrome

This is Marty. He has a very sad genetic disorder called hypertrichosis. Because it was congenital hypertrichosis, Marty was born like this. He had many symptoms to tell that he had the disorder. When he was born, there was excessive hair growth all over his body. In this disease, it usually falls off after birth. However, for Marty, it started changing colors and growing more as he got older, so they knew he had an even more specific type called Congenital Hypertrichosis Terminalis. This was Marty as a child. This is when he first started wondering why he was so hairy, and none of the other kids were. At the library, he found out that hypertrichosis is basically a gene mutation that makes hair grow super long everywhere on your body. He also learned that it is an x-linked disease. Finally, he learned he was special, because it is very rare.

As a teen, Marty no longer found himself special. He wanted the hair off. He had shaved daily, but this would not last long. Other treatments he tried were hair removal cream. This also grew back. He would have loved to get it removed with laser treatment or chemical treatment, but was too afraid. Marty felt that no one would accept him.



Marty loved to cook. However, no restaurant would hire him, because he would get hair all over the food. He needed to make money somehow, so he joined the circus. It is very common for people with werewolf disease to do this, because people pay a lot of money to see carnival shows with half werewolf people. Sadly, Marty died at age 97. This disease does not shorten a life span, thankfully.