Meet Shauna, the 22-year-old woman 'trapped' in an eight-year-old's body on I Am Shauna Rae
On the outside, many might assume Shauna Rae to be a young girl.
"The truth is, I'm not a little girl," she explains in her reality series I Am Shauna Rae. "I'm a 22-year-old woman trapped in the body of an eight-year-old."
Stream episodes of I Am Shauna Rae for free on 9Now.
Shauna has a rare medical condition, which stems from the chemotherapy treatment she received for brain cancer when she was just six months old.
While the treatment was successful in saving her life, it affected her pituitary gland which led to a dramatic stunt in her growth.
During the premiere episode of I Am Shauna Rae – which you can watch for free on 9Now – Shauna opens up about the obstacles she faces on her way to independence; from dating to drinking and everything in-between.
"Even though I can't physically grow up, I desperately want to be treated like an adult," Shauna says.
Meet Shauna in the videos above.
"It is scary to put myself out there, but you have to put some risk in to get happiness."
Shauna went on to explain her condition to cameras.
"When I was six months old, my mum noticed a bump in the back of my head so she took me to the doctor. The doctor said it was a tumour, a very aggressive tumour," she says.
Shauna explained exactly what happened in the video below.
After undergoing successful treatments, it wasn't until Shauna was in kindergarten at age five that her parents noticed other children were significantly taller than her.
Shauna was taken back to hospital, where she learned her pituitary gland was "close to dormant" – which meant her growth hormone would produce much slower.
After taking growth hormones, she was told by doctors at age 16 that she was "done growing" and her bones were fused.
"I didn't have this realisation that I wasn't going to be normal until I was 16," she continued. "That moment, it was almost like... the world shattered."
Years later, and Shauna is raising awareness about her condition in this incredibly moving series.
Shauna is 22 at the time of filming, but at 3'10" and weighing around 5 pounds (approximately 22.7 kg), she faces quite a few challenges.
"I do deserve more independence from my family because I can't go anywhere without them asking questions," she admits.
Shauna says that walking into an adult environment is concerning, with places like an adult-only bar never failing to raise eyebrows.
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"People stare, they're going to comment and it's going to make me uncomfortable," she adds.
Even simple things like enjoying a theme park become a hurdle. On a family day out, Shauna lines up to ride a rollercoaster.
Shauna explains the hurdles she faces in the video below.
"I can't ride half the stuff because you have to be four [feet tall] and I'm 2 inches under," she says. "I'm at a disadvantage, it's rigged."
When things like this happen, Shauna feels her sense of independence is taken away and went on to explain the main things holding her back.
"The finances, the fact that I can't drive yet and my parents need to learn to loosen the reigns and I don't know if my mum would ever do that," she states.
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"Emotionally I'm very independent, I wouldn't say I'm fully independent.
"I'm working on it."
You can follow Shauna's full story in Episode 1 of I Am Shauna Rae on 9Now.