Miss Ewing's Growth and

Measurements
From the book Our Miss Ella
By Bette Wiley, page 197

"..Annie wrote that Ben returned from Rainbow one day and told her of the comical exchange he and Mr. Rainbeau had enjoyed when he inquired about Ella's present height. Ben said he didn't know what made him say it, that it had just popped out that Miss Ella was growing faster than his own cornfield and sometimes they almost couldn't tell if it was Ella's joints cracking or the corn growing....Her joints creaked and her knees and shoulders creaked with every move she made, and not without its painful reminder to her that it was she who was making the growing sounds, and not the corn in the field."

1872 Birth Weight: 7.5 Lbs

1879 Age 7: Started to Grow

1884 Age 12: 5'6" – Taller than her Mother

1886 Age 14: 6'2" – Same height as her Father

1888 Age 16: Nearly 7' Tall

1890 Age 18: 7'8"

1894 Age 22: 8'4"


Gigantism
From the American Medical Association Encyclopedia of Medicine

Excessive growth (especially height) resulting from overproduction, during childhood or adolescence, of growth hormone by a tumor of the pituitary gland. Untreated, the tumor eventually destroys the pituitary gland and results in death during early adult life. If the tumor develops after growth has stopped, the result is acromegaly rather than gigantism.

Over secretion of growth hormone from early life can result in an individual attaining an immense height. The tallest documented giant in medical history, Robert Wadlow, reached a height of 8 feet 11 inches and a weight of 475 pounds before he died at age 22. Such instances are rare, however. By far the most common reason for a child being tall is that his or her parents are tall. Other rare causes of excessive height in childhood are Marfan's Syndrome and thyrotoxicosis.


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