The Ghanaian giant reported to be the world’s tallest man

When I heard rumours of a caller contender for the world's tallest antheral successful bluish Ghana, I acceptable retired to find retired if it was true. The lone problem? Measuring him.

A section infirmary successful bluish Ghana told 29-year-old Sulemana Abdul Samed during 1 of his caller check-ups that helium had reached the tallness of 9 ft 6in (2.89m).

This would marque him the tallest antheral successful the world, but determination was a drawback - the agrarian session could not beryllium definite of his tallness due to the fact that it did not person the close measuring tools.

Diagnosed with gigantism a fewer years ago, the young antheral was attending a monthly assignment to woody with the complications of surviving arsenic a elephantine erstwhile helium was asked to basal consecutive against a measuring rod.

A shocked caregiver told him: "You've grown taller than the scale."

Better known to everyone by his nickname Awuche, which means "Let's Go" successful Hausa, helium was bemused by the spectacle helium was causing.

He was not amazed to perceive helium was taller, fixed helium has ne'er stopped increasing - but it caused consternation for the staff, who were not prepared for specified a scenario.

The work caregiver called retired to her colleague, who successful crook called retired to different for help. Before agelong a radical of nurses and wellness assistants gathered to lick the puzzle of determining his height.

One suggested they find a rod and usage it arsenic an hold supra their instrumentality to measurement his tallness - and this is however they arrived astatine their estimate.

When I archetypal came crossed Awuche a fewer months agone erstwhile travelling successful bluish Ghana, wherever his fame had dispersed crossed the area's grasslands, I did not person a measuring portion connected maine to verify his height.

So successful bid to settee the substance - and equipped with a 16ft measuring portion - I returned to the colony of Gambaga past week.

The program was to person him thin against a wall, people it by the crown of his caput and past find his tallness utilizing the measuring tape.

"The mode they measurement me, I cannot accidental everything is perfect," Awuche admitted - blessed with my program to get an nonstop measurement.

He turned retired to beryllium taller than astir of the houses successful his neighbourhood, but aft a bully hunt we recovered a suitable gathering with a high-enough wall.

He took disconnected his shoes - ample slip-ons specially made from car tyres and nailed unneurotic for him by a section handyman arsenic helium has been incapable to find shoes to acceptable him.

One of his neighbours clambered up connected a woody stool to scope Awuche's tallness truthful helium could people the partition with a portion of charcoal.

After verifying the line, we stretched retired the measuring portion firmly from the marked enactment to the crushed arsenic Awuche looked connected successful anticipation.

"Awuche, the measuring portion reads 7ft 4in," I said.

Wearing his inimitable smile, helium replied: "Wow, truthful what does it mean?"

"Well, the tallest antheral live is 8ft 2.8in tall, helium is hardly 1 ft taller than you."

"I'm inactive increasing tall. Who knows, possibly 1 time I whitethorn get to that tallness too," Awuche remarked - not astatine each upset by the discrepancy with the fig fixed to him by the hospital.

"Every 3 months of 4 months I grow… If you've not seen maine for 3 months oregon 4 and you spot me, you'd realised I person increased," helium explains.

This summation successful tallness started to go noticeable erstwhile helium was 22 years aged and surviving successful the capital, Accra.

Awuche had moved determination to effort his luck successful the city, wherever 1 of his brothers lived, aft finishing secondary school.

He was moving astatine a butchers, redeeming wealth to instrumentality lessons astatine a driving school.

But helium woke up 1 greeting successful confusion: "I realised my lingua had expanded successful my rima to the grade that I could not enactment [properly]," helium recounts.

He visited a section pharmacy to get immoderate medication, nevertheless days aboriginal helium realised each different portion of his assemblage had started expanding successful size.

When household and friends from his colony visited the city, they would each remark connected his maturation spurt and it was astatine this constituent helium realised helium was gradually turning into a giant.

He began to operation implicit everyone - and helium sought aesculapian assistance arsenic the maturation brought different complications.

He has been near with an abnormally curved spine, 1 of the salient symptoms of his condition, Marfan syndrome, a familial upset affecting the body's connective tissues.

It results successful abnormally agelong limbs.

More superior complications impact bosom defects.

Doctors accidental helium needs a surgical process successful his encephalon to halt the growth.

But Ghana's nationalist healthcare security cannot screen this, providing lone for basal treatment.

For each infirmary sojourn helium indispensable inactive rise astir $50 (£40).

His wellness problems yet forced him to instrumentality to his location colony six years agone and springiness up his dreams of becoming a driver.

"I was readying to spell to driving school, but adjacent erstwhile I displacement the spot back, I can't clasp the steering wheel… I can't agelong my limb due to the fact that my genu volition sound the wheel."

He is present surviving with his member - and gets by aft mounting up a tiny concern selling mobile telephone credits.

His tallness has besides curtailed his societal life.

"I utilized to play shot similar each different young man, I was diversion but present I cannot adjacent locomotion abbreviated distances," helium explained.

But Awuche does not fto his problems get him down. He is afloat of psyche arsenic his gangly slim framework weaves done the dusty paths of the colony - smiling arsenic radical telephone retired to him.

He is simply a spot of a section celebrity.

A radical of aged radical sitting by a shed speech pleasantries, children wave, immoderate women travel up for a hug and stock jokes with him.

Some radical privation to instrumentality selfies with him - adjacent strangers travel up to inquire if helium is the elephantine they person seen connected societal media.

"I usually volition say: 'Yes travel closer' - we basal and instrumentality bully pictures," Awuche says.

He is astir grateful to his household for their affectional support, saying that helium knows of nary different relatives, including his 3 brothers, who amusement immoderate motion of having his condition.

"None of them are tall, I americium conscionable the tallest man."

He would emotion to get joined and person children 1 time but wants to archetypal ore connected sorting retired his health.

His archetypal precedence is to effort and rise wealth for integrative country to woody with a superior tegument ailment connected 1 leg, ankle and ft caused by the excess maturation of the limb.

But looking astatine his bandaged toes, Awuche refuses to beryllium disheartened by his predicament.

"That is however Allah chose it for me, I americium OK. I don't person a occupation with the mode God created me."