The 31-year-old twins Adam and Neil Pearson from London were born with the same congenital anomaly - neurofibromatosis. But their illness proceeded in completely different ways.
In Neal, it practically did not affect the appearance, and in Adam, due to illness, the whole head increased in size due to tumors and growths. So much so that they began to call him "The Elephant Man", by analogy with the famous John Merrick, who lived in the 19th century.
When Neal and Adam were still very young, the disease had not yet disfigured Adam, so the twins were extremely similar to each other. Now Adam says with a sigh that no one believes that he and Neal are twins.
Tumors began to disfigure Adam's face at preschool age, and when Adam went to school, they called him "The Elephant Man" and "Quasimodo". Since then, he has undergone more than thirty operations and has gone blind in one eye, but the disease continues to destroy his body.
Neal's illness manifested itself in the form of regular epileptic seizures and memory problems. Sometimes the latter becomes so serious that he cannot remember what day it is.
The twins were born with 1 type of neurofibromatosis, which occurs in 1 out of 3,000 babies. A year ago, the twins starred in the television documentary Horizon: My Amazing Twin, where they told their story.
Surprisingly, thanks to his looks, Adam quickly found a job on the same television. He has starred in productions of "Beauty and the Beast", as well as in the reality show "The Undateables" ("I'm not called out on dates"). He recently took part in the filming of a Slovak music video.
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He was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis at the age of 5 after Adam once stumbled and fell. The bump that appeared at the site of the injury did not disappear over time, but began to grow. Adam was admitted to the famous children's clinic on Great Ormond Street for examination, and there they found out that this was not a lump, but a tumor and it grows in the neck and presses on the trachea, threatening the child's future life. After that, a series of operations began, which the mother of the twins recalls as a big nightmare.
Since Neil did not have tumors, it was initially believed that the disease did not affect him. But at the age of 14, she was also found in him, although it did not manifest itself in the form of tumors. Neal says that his life was certainly easier than his brother's because of the absence of tumors, but he is proud of the way Adam steadfastly endures all the suffering that befell him.
Now Neal is afraid that he, too, may start to grow tumors, and Adam is afraid that he may start losing memory, like Neal. Adam is also optimistic about the treatment and recently took part in the trials of an experimental drug that should help stop the growth of tumors. Adam also dreams of finding a girlfriend someday.
