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Rare Condition Gives Toddler Super Strength
Filed under: In The News, Weird But True
At first glance, Liam Hoekstra looks like your typical toddler. At 3 years old and 30 pounds, he sports a mop of curly brown hair and a mischievous smile. But hand the boy a pair of dumbbells and it is immediately clear that there is something special about him. With 40 percent more muscle mass than the average person and exceptional strength, agility and speed, Liam is a real-life Bam Bam Rubble.No, Liam hasn't been working out -- he was born with a genetic condition called myostatin-related muscle hypertrophy. In essence, his muscle cells reject the protein myostatin, which results in above-average muscle development, a super-fast metabolism and virtually no body fat.
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Liam's parents, Dana and Neil Hoekstra of Roosevelt Park, Michigan, say they noticed right away that there was something different about their adopted son. At two days old, his legs could support the weight of his body while his mother held his hands for balance. By 5 months, he could do a difficult gymnastics move that most grown men can't manage.
"I would hold him up by his hands and he would lift himself into an iron cross. That's when we were like, 'Whoa, this is weird,'" says Dana.
As Liam grew, so did his strength -- and his parent's amazement. "When he fell backward, he would land on his butt, but he never hit his head on the ground," Dana says. "His stomach would tense up and he would catch himself before his head hit the ground. You could see his stomach muscles. He had a little six-pack."
Liam's condition is very rare. First documented in beef cattle in the late 1990s, the first human case wasn't discovered until 2000. Today, there are only about 100 known cases in the entire world. Scientists say that studying Liam and others like him could help them to understand the mystery of muscle growth and deterioration and possibly lead to new treatments for ailments such as muscular dystrophy and osteoporosis.
The good news is that while Liam's condition prevents his body from developing the fat young children need for brain growth and development of the central nervous system, he appears to be doing well both physically and mentally. But while he excels in the strength-related activities in his gymnastics class, he has more difficulty than other kids with his balance and flexibility.
The bad news is, he eats like a horse! "He's hungry for a full meal about every hour because of his rapid metabolism," says Dana. "He's already eating me out of house and home."
Keeping Liam fed isn't the only challenge his parents are dealing with. He's already given mom a black eye and put a hole in the wall during a tantrum. But if they can all survive his childhood intact, Liam's future looks pretty bright.
While Liam's dad dreams about his son's future spot on the football team at his beloved University of Michigan, mom just hopes for a normal life for her exceptional son. The Hoekstra's routinely refuse interviews with television news crews looking to sensationalize their son's story. "It's great that he's going to have some extra muscle mass, but I don't want him to be viewed as some kind of freak," says Dana.
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ReaderComments (Page 4 of 4)
4-05-2009 @ 11:28PM
Natae said...My grandmother had a child like this. He ended up dying at the age of two from smallpox. We never spoke much about it because people would think we were crazy. My grandmother said when he was born, he sat up and looked around and then laid back down. The doctor told her that she was not going to raise that child. My grandmother said she didn't know what to think. He walked within a few days. She said he was highly intelligent as he spoke at an earlier age than most babies. My grandmother even took him back to the doctor. As the doctor examined her baby he took and grabbed the doctor in the collar and shook him. I remember she said he had the strength of a man. I guess he didn't like the examination. The doctor told her to not show fear to her child. He would have been one of those medical miracles if he had of lived because the scientists would have wanted to study him. He would get up in the middle of the night and use the bathroom by himself. He was also very psychically inclined. These types of things I guess African Americans didn't speak about much as they felt it was one of God's gift and that was that. She really missed her child as that was the only one that died. She said she felt she would never really have him long. And he wouldn't call her mother, he would call her by her nickname. Even her friends were amazed by her child.
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4-05-2009 @ 8:21PM
tymica said...I tend to agree with the posters who say this may not be as rare as people think, just misdiagnosed. My son who is now 11 could stand hold his weight with his legs shortly after birth. He was walking by 9 mos and helping his dad haul firewood by 11 mos. I mean HUGE logs. He has always had a 6 pack and been very muscular, all of this and he eats all the time but never has an ounce of pudge (thought both his father and I are overweight) However, unless they see some medical need to treat it, I'm perfectly fine with him the way he is.
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4-05-2009 @ 9:29PM
Clifford Roth Band said...Tell me that America did not exist before it was discovered; tell me AIDS didn't exist before it was given a name. What makes us all the same is that we are all different. I know people that are Savant, and can not exist without outside help. Cherish our differences and have the ability to recognize them and accept and nuture them.
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4-05-2009 @ 9:42PM
cjcfleur said...But he has already given Mom a black eye and punced a hole in the wall. Warning, warning willl robinson warning.............I would guess that Mom and Dad might want to get some family counseling asap, because if the child is already hitting and punching at 3 years old, where is he learning this from. Sorry it doesn't come with the muscles.
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4-05-2009 @ 10:38PM
Bon said...Hercules is mythical, but Samson's story was recorded in the Bible. There IS a difference, Ron.
I hope the adoptive parents find good doctors to help with Liam. With this genetic condition, he might grow muscles to the point of being "muscle-bound," meaning that they're huge but limit what he can do. Too much muscle can be bad. We've all seen movies in which some body builder stands with his arms hanging out away from his body, which isn't to show off but because they're too bulky to hang against his trunk!!
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6-15-2009 @ 9:34AM
achylles said...I recently watched "worlds strongest toddler" and found that alot of the doctors and trainers where impressed. all but me and the people that know my son (ACHYLLES) not to take anything away from liam, but my so is a year younger and can do twice as much as liam. my son is 2years old now and will be 3 in december. they where amazed that liam could hang from a bar for 14 sec. ACHYLLES at 18 months could hang from a bar for 2min. & 40sec. (timed with a stopwatch) my son can also do 24 push-ups now. and at the age of one he hung from an olympic ring with one hand for over 15 sec. i have yet to see any child within my sons age even compare. he has even put some adults to the test. liam is the first child i've seen even come close to comparison with my son. i built my son a website to display his athletic capabilities. to view go to ACHYLLES.COM you can see pictures, videos ( he has 3 highlight video's out. at age one, 18 months and 2 years), workout schedule (varies) etc. or you could just check out his edited video's on youtube search: ACHYLLES I promise you will be amazed. oh yea he recently beat his 11 year old brother up and over a 12 foot fence. but you will have to wait till december to see that.
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