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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