On January 11, the new TLC reality show “I Am Shauna Rae” will premiere for television audiences. If not introduced beforehand, viewers might be shocked to see a girl pole dancing, drinking, and getting tattoos. It can be said that this girl bears a striking resemblance to the character Haibara from the Detective Conan series, who was shrunk by a poison from the Black Organization.
22-year-old Shauna Rae is trapped in the body of an 8-year-old child.
The main character of this show is a 22-year-old girl named Shauna Rae, who is “trapped” in the body of an eight-year-old due to complications from a surgery she underwent as an infant. Currently, Rae is struggling to live a normal adult life.
At six months old, Rae was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer and underwent chemotherapy, which caused her developmental delays.
Despite being 22 years old, Rae is only 95 cm tall – equivalent to the average height of an eight-year-old child. As a result, she is often mistaken for a child.
She explains: “Due to the effects of chemotherapy, my pituitary gland has nearly stopped functioning completely. The doctors said I have stopped growing, and my bones are fully developed. In the end, my height is 95 cm.”
Although scientists state that: “there is no strong direct evidence that chemotherapy is the cause” of significant pituitary deformities like Shauna’s case, it can sometimes occur, and chemotherapy has been known to cause other endocrine issues in cancer patients.
“If you look at me, you would think I am just a normal girl, doing little things with my happy family,” she says in the trailer for TLC’s new show.
In the show, we will follow Shauna as she goes to bars, gets tattoos, and works out in the gym. Almost at any location, people mistake her for a child.
“Although physically, I cannot grow any taller, I really want to be treated like an adult,” Rae states in the trailer. “I am working hard to gain independence.”
Shauna has to stand on a chair to do her makeup in the bathroom.
Her youthful appearance makes dating very difficult. A guy on a blind date felt tricked when Shauna appeared and introduced herself.
She says: “Right now, I am single and do not have any relationships. Ironically, my appearance attracts the wrong kind of people. I feel really scared appearing on television in front of millions of eyes, but you have to take some risks to find happiness.”
She hopes to find love through this show and start building a family.
TLC is quite famous for creating reality shows about the lives of people with “unique” appearances, such as 1,000-Lb. Sisters or 7 Little Johnstons. These shows usually follow a common format, where audiences get to see the daily lives of the main characters and how they interact with the world while facing various challenges due to their appearances, how others react to them, how they endure medical interventions, and of course, the life experiences they share, just like anyone else.
