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CARLY Ruhnke, 25, from New Jersey, was born with a rare form of dwarfism called Morquio syndrome Type A. At only 3ft tall, Carly is a foot shorter than most others with this condition. But what she lacks in height, she makes up for in personality. Carly’s life motto is ‘don’t even try and stop me’. From walking the Little People of America catwalk to being a charity ambassador, Carly embraces every new opportunity. She told Truly: “Life has been different but I know how to deal with it myself.” Growing up Carly was called names by other kids but she always had her brother, Ed, on hand to look out for her. Even today, Carly still faces judgement because of her height. She says: “The biggest thing that affects me is when people talk down to me. I might be 3ft tall but I’m still a grown woman.” Despite this Carly maintains a positive attitude and encourages others to do what makes them happy.

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Transcript
00:00My dwarfism, Marcos syndrome, type A, is very rare.
00:04It is every one in 200,000 births.
00:08It leaves me to be three foot tall.
00:10My biggest motto in life, don't even try and stop me.
00:13My relationship with my brother is really amazing.
00:16We're just two peas in a pod.
00:18She's very inspiring and encouraging.
00:20We kind of just feed off each other's energy to be better.
00:24The biggest thing that affects me is when people talk down to me.
00:29Obviously, I'm a woman.
00:30The word is just a very negative word.
00:34This is my scooter.
00:35My grandfather lowered the handle and lowered the seat
00:39so that I could just plop myself in it.
00:44Hi, my name is Carly Runke.
00:46We are at my home in New Jersey.
00:49And what was the other question?
00:53My biggest motto in life, don't even try and stop me.
00:57My dwarfism, Marcos syndrome, type A, is very rare.
01:01It is every one in 200,000 births.
01:05It leaves me to be three foot tall.
01:07We were in the mix of redoing the kitchen.
01:11My parents were nice enough to add the kitchen in for me
01:14so I could reach and make things myself
01:17and pour myself a drink when I want one.
01:20The biggest thing that affects me is when people talk down to me.
01:25Because, yeah, they see I'm three foot tall, but obviously I'm a woman.
01:28I don't look like a toddler.
01:29I don't dress like a toddler.
01:31Or when they use the word .
01:33A lot of people in the little people world refer to the M word.
01:38It's just a very negative word.
01:42This is actually the weekly infusion medics then that I get each week.
01:46My nurse comes and she puts these little bottles into a bag,
01:50and I get my enzyme replacement therapy.
01:53Life has been different.
01:54I just know how to deal with it and live with it myself.
01:59I've had surgeries.
02:00I do enzyme replacement therapy.
02:03I do what I have to do.
02:04I take care of myself.
02:06Growing up, it was definitely different.
02:08You know, we always wanted to make sure that my siblings,
02:11their stuff still came first.
02:13You know, make life normal.
02:15I've had stares.
02:16My siblings know that this is what happens, and, you know,
02:19when you see someone as you ordinary, people are going to look.
02:22My relationship with my brother is really amazing.
02:25He's someone that will always include me and wishes me to be my best.
02:29We're four years apart, so early on, you know,
02:32I didn't really notice any differences.
02:34And then the first time that it probably really hit me was when she had her first
02:37major surgery when she was two and a half.
02:39I guess that was the first time for me that I realized, like, things were different.
02:43As she got older and we started going to, like, her National Little People events
02:46and things like that, it became a very cool thing
02:49because we got to see this whole other world
02:50that most people are not exposed to.
02:52We're just two peas in a pod.
02:54I couldn't ask for a better brother.
03:04So, Miss Carly.
03:06Yes.
03:06We're going to try on a couple of dresses today.
03:08Okay.
03:09What do you think of this?
03:10I like them.
03:12I've done a lot of fashion shows.
03:13When they first met me, they were like,
03:15oh, my gosh, I don't know what kind of dress I'm going to put her in
03:17because, you know, I'm three foot tall.
03:19That's, you know, we got to alter things.
03:21It makes things look right on my body.
03:23All right, Miss Carly, you ready?
03:25Yeah.
03:25All right.
03:26Let's see what you think of this one.
03:29What would you give this on a 1 to 10?
03:30I'd give this an 11.
03:33An 11.
03:35We love that confidence, don't we?
03:37Yeah.
03:37Is this slit too high?
03:39No.
03:40It's not high enough.
03:41It's not high.
03:44You could always do a silver or a black shoe.
03:46Either would work.
03:47Probably black.
03:48Yeah.
03:49You want to do black?
03:50Okay, perfect.
03:51Hey, Ed, we need your help.
03:53About 10 years ago, Carly came into my shop.
03:56My first thought was, wow, this is going to be a challenge.
03:59That was the first five minutes.
04:01What has happened since then has been an amazing friendship.
04:06I always tell her she is my biggest, littlest inspiration.
04:12I would say I was a little protective.
04:13She had, like, some bullying issues,
04:16typical kids picking on somebody that's different.
04:18So I felt like I always would, like, try and have, like, my friends keeping an eye out for
04:22different people keeping an eye out for her in school.
04:25I have, you know, a little bit of a gut here because my organs are the average size of another
04:3125-year-old.
04:32It all kind of, you know, pushed down to here, so sometimes I'm just like, oh, I look like,
04:37you know, I look like I'm pregnant or I look like I'm fat.
04:40But, you know, at the end of the day, I try to, you know, see the positive.
04:44When I was in kindergarten, someone called me a chicken nugget, and I was very offended
04:50by that.
04:51Now I think it's funny, but five-year-old Carly was not okay with it.
04:55If you're watching this, hi, chicken nuggets right here.
04:59I'm excited about doing a catwalk.
05:01Hopefully the weather stays nice.
05:03Walking on a runway and getting dressed up makes me feel more confident.
05:07Carly just can never blend because of her size, even with little people, because she is
05:11about a foot smaller than your average little person.
05:14She comes in all sizes and shapes, and Carly is the perfect example of that.
05:20She brings in a very positive attitude for somebody that has had a lot of setbacks in
05:24life.
05:25Day to day, I'll use that as encouragement for myself.
05:28Today was a really exciting day.
05:32The dress shop is always a great experience.
05:34Kat and Brandon always put me in the best dresses, and I'm very fortunate for that.
05:38And I always make sure I look my best.
05:40She's very inspiring and encouraging.
05:43We kind of just feed off each other's energy to be better.
05:46Definitely, one thing that was a little bit more difficult walking on the boardwalk was
05:50walking on heels.
05:51As you can tell, the heels are off.
05:53That is not happening right now, but the show still goes on.
05:59Be yourself.
06:00Be 100% who you are.
06:02If you want to walk the runway on the boardwalk, walk the runway on the boardwalk.
06:06I just did that, and I don't care who saw me.
06:09I love me for who I am.

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