When the Thyroids Strike: The Curious Case of Maria Audenete do Nascimento

In the arid desert of Brazil on a remote area known as Muquém lies the dry and dusty waters of Northern Brazil. Here the Nascimento family got their hands full raising two babies. One was 18 months old and loves playing with the chicken, the other called Audenete sits on a raised platform just like any 2 years old would. She has a wisp of hair on her head. But she is no ordinary toddler, she is 36 years old. Maria Audenete do Nascimento was born on May 7, 1981.

^{Source: Maria Audenete do Nascimento}


Sadly, she is trapped inside the body of a 2-year-old toddler.

Audenete is like a two-year-old. What goes on inside a two-year-old's head is what goes on inside her head.

Dr Manuel Hissa a paediatrician said.

Audenete suffers from a severe case of congenital hyperthyroidism. This simply means she was born with little or no thyroid hormone.

Thyroids are the organ responsible for metabolism and growth. If you do not have it, then you would be like a tortoise that hibernates during the winter; no growth.

Audenete's body had been in hibernation ever since she was two years old. There is no growth or mental development. For 29 years there is virtually no development of the body.

Her case was this way due to the doctors not finding out on time. This was despite the visits to the local health centre. It was only properly diagnosed when she was 8 years old which sadly makes it a late discovery as the treatment for such is long gone.

Raimundo Do Nascimento, Audenete's father whose wife passed any 13 years was devastated by this news.

If her condition was properly diagnosed some few weeks after birth she would have led a completely normal life as her growth hormone would work just fine.

Because of this lack of thyroid hormone, the following happened

• Hair loss
• ‎Lethargic (unlike a natural two-year-old)
• ‎Speech development and other cognitive ability were severely affected
• ‎Excess fat
• ‎Buildup of cholesterol in her blood putting a strain on her heart.
  
  
  
  ^{Source: The thyroid glands}
  
  
  The thyroid glands surely do play an amazing role in our body. The thyroid gland is located in the neck and influences metabolism, protein synthesising function and growth. The congenital hyperthyroidism is best treated early

The mainstay in the treatment of congenital hypothyroidism is early diagnosis and thyroid hormone replacement. Optimal care may include diagnosis before age 10-13 days and normalization of thyroid hormone blood levels by age 3 weeks. ^Source

This is already too late for Audenete but luckily the hormone treatment had yielded some positive result as she could be seen to walk in this video.

---

Ref: 1,2