A teenager could die from a single knock in the playground due to a rare genetic disorder.
Lauren Stribling’s mother Cath Carter fears she may lose her daughter to the same condition that killed Lauren’s aunt and grandmother.
The 13-year-old suffers from Marfan syndrome – which can cause life-threatening heart or lung problems – and has to avoid all contact games at school.
Cath is also afraid that Lauren could die from an attack by school bullies after they have threatened to slap her for ‘faking’ her disability, despite her elongated limbs – one of the physical signs of the disorder.
The girl’s aunt, Cath’s sister Jennifer Carter, died in 2000 at the age of just 15 after collapsing in the corridors of the same school Lauren now attends.
The disease causes everything in Lauren’s body to be extra stretchy and she has elongated bones and fingers – towering above her peers at 5ft 11in and with size eight and a half feet.
Cath, who also suffers with the syndrome, admitted she knew she had a 50 per cent chance of passing it onto her child after losing her sister and mother at a young age and admits she had Lauren for ‘selfish reasons’.
Lauren Stribling, pictured with her mother Cath Carter, suffers from Marfan syndrome
A knock could trigger the school girl to suffer heart problems or a collapsed lung
Cath, 35, from Wallasey, Wirral, in Merseyside, said: ‘Lauren can’t do any contact sports at all because a single knock of the head or blow to the chest could kill her.
‘If Lauren got hit in the chest, because the valves in her heart are stretchy, blood could move the wrong way through her heart and kill her. She’s also really prone to getting a collapsed lung.’
‘It makes me feel quite guilty’
Marfan syndrome is rare, affecting about 1 in 3,000 people. It can cause aortic enlargement – expansion of the main blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart to the rest of the body.
Cath said she took the risk and decided to have a child because she wanted ‘someone to shower with unconditional love’.
Doctors were able to diagnose the teen at just four months old despite her symptoms not appearing until she was seven years old.
Lauren has to avoid all contact games in the playground due to her condition
The girl’s aunt, Cath’s sister Jennifer Carter, died in 2000 at the age of just 15 from the same genetic condition
‘Sometimes I feel like I had Lauren for selfish reasons,’ she said. ‘I knew there was a 50 per cent chance but I wanted my own family to pass on that love to.
‘After losing my mum and my sisters so young, I wanted someone to love unconditionally, the way I’d loved them. It makes me feel quite guilty.
‘But luckily it means Lauren was diagnosed really young and she has had the absolute best care possible since then.
‘She still goes for regular check-ups and I know so much about the condition.’
‘One slap could end Lauren’
Now Cath is calling on the bullies to understand the seriousness of her daughter’s condition.
She said: ‘Because she is just really tall some of the other kids in school don’t realise just how serious her condition is but I lost my mum to Marfan and then two years later I lost my sister.
‘Jennifer died when she was just 15. Every day I am filled with worry that the same will happen to her.
‘It’s one thing to worry but when Lauren came home last week telling me some bullies had threatened to slap her for faking her condition, it was heartbreaking.
‘No parent wants their child to be bullied but for me, one slap could be the end for Lauren. Now every morning when she goes to school I am terrified.’
Cath claims this is not the first time Lauren has been subjected to bullying as her daughter has also been taunted with names like ‘lanky’ and ‘big foot’ in the past.
The teenager holds a picture of Jennifer who died at the same school Lauren attends
Lauren, pictured here at around ten months old, was diagnosed with the syndrome at just four months old
‘She’s such a strong character – it makes me really proud’
Cath says the threat of physical violence against her daughter highlights a lack of awareness not just of Marfan syndrome but other ‘invisible’ obvious disabilities and disorders.
Cath said: ‘Marfan causes problems with your connective tissue so everything in your body is stretched and extra-long. People are usually really tall with long faces and slim fingers.
‘Because all her ligaments are extra stretchy, Lauren’s got hypermobility so she’s really flexible and her bones are long so she’s the tallest in her class – she’s taller than all the girls and most the boys.
‘She really struggles to find clothes that fit because she is so tall but so slim and shoes can be a nightmare as her feet are a size eight and a half..
‘She takes everything in her stride. She is such a strong character – it makes me really proud.
Cath says the threat of physical violence against her daughter highlights a lack of awareness not just of Marfan syndrome
Lauren first started developing symptoms of the condition at seven years old
‘Instead of letting the bullies get to her, she has really embraced being different. Some days she even tells me she wishes she was taller.
‘She is proud to stand out and she should be. People will try to pick on her for her height but she always has a really witty come back. It is really refreshing to see.
‘The thing that does really upset her is not being able to do things that everyone else is doing. High heels are an absolute no and quite a few different activities and sports.
‘The school have been brilliant. They’ve really worked hard to accommodate her condition. And as soon as I mentioned the bullying, they have been really helpful.
‘But there just really needs to be more awareness out there. These kids were telling her she isn’t really ill and that’s not on. Parents need to be doing more to teach their kids about less obvious disabilities and disorders.
Cath said she has spoken to Lauren’s school, Oldershaw Academy, regarding the bullying and said staff had been ‘really helpful’.
A spokesman for Oldershaw Academy said the school had an extensive anti-bullying strategy that involves a pastoral system and an open door policy for parents plus a weekly drop-in surgery every for those who wish to raise issues of concern.