Roma Krivachev from the small Sverdlovsk village of Bulanash, at first glance, will not give even ten years. A chubby baby face, a little over a meter tall, weighing 20 kilograms. Meanwhile, a 20-year-old, educated young man who earns a hundred thousand rubles a month is locked in this tiny little body …
The first thing that catches your eye in Roma's room is a giant sofa, 10 times larger than himself. But in fact, it is not in the cradle for him to sleep. "Boy" is listening intently to "RBC" - the latest news on exchange rates. The seriousness of this "baby" is terribly discordant with his appearance. And the effect is further enhanced when Krivachev begins to speak. He has a gentle, thin voice.
- You cannot imagine how pleased I am with the strengthening of the ruble, - Roman smiles. - To live immediately safer when you know that our economy is in perfect order.
Associations with the character of Brad Pitt from the movie "The Mysterious Story of Benjamin Button" immediately arise in my head. The 2008 fantasy drama tells the story of a man who was born at the age of 80 and then gradually began to look younger.
Single mother Tatiana Krivacheva catches our surprised looks and quietly explains:
- Roma was born immediately with disabilities. His legs were paralyzed. But the rest of the son was healthy. By the age of nine, he had grown to 120 centimeters. And then once, and that's it: it stopped growing.
The woman realized that something was wrong with her child, only a couple of years later, when Roma had absolutely not changed. Years passed, and the son remained a boy, who can be given even 9 years old with a big stretch.
That just did not try mom. She drove Roma all over the country, but the doctors just shrugged their shoulders: “Some devilry! Never in my life have come across such a thing. Only five years later, metropolitan doctors were able to identify the disease: mandibuloacral dysplasia. Simply put, the boy's two genes are “broken”. Because of this, its growth stopped. Forever and ever.
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Roma's father fled when his son was still very young. Photo: personal archive of the Krivachev family
Then it got worse. When the boy was in the ninth grade, he lost his sight.
“I went to the grocery store, and when I tried to drive down a steep ramp, I fell with the stroller and hit my head,” recalls Krivachev. - Then I began to rapidly lose my sight, and now I am completely blind.
EARNED 100 THOUSAND
Despite partial paralysis and blindness, Roma did not lose interest in his studies. He was keenly interested in literally everything - from literature and social studies to algebra and chemistry. As a result, he graduated from school with a gold medal (homeschooled).
- And now I have a certificate in my hands. Of course, I began to think about how to make a living, - the boy-man admits. - I wanted to provide not only myself, but also my mother, who "raised" me alone (Tatiana works in the police).
Roma sips tea through a straw. He cannot take the mug in his hands - he will drop it. But with a laptop it is deftly controlled, so I started looking for work on the Internet.
- I tried to get a job as a dispatcher in a taxi or a delivery service, but they refused me, without explaining the reasons, - Krivachev sighs. - And once I heard my mother's friend talking about trading on the stock exchange, and I realized: it's mine!
The smart young man quickly understood the principle of work and got down to business. I installed voice programs on my computer, downloaded audiobooks on economics, listened to financial news day and night. Gradually, Roma began to understand the situation on the stock market and finally understood the principle at what moment the value of which shares increases or decreases. I took a chance, bought and … earned!
“At first I rescued a couple of thousand, then more, and recently I“raised”one hundred thousand in half a month,” the novice broker says in a businesslike manner. - I bought my mom a gift - a massage chair.
I DO NOT NEED A GIRL
The day of the Ural Benjamin Button is scheduled by the minute: first, his mother helps him do exercises to stretch his joints, then puts his son in the bath, then breakfast. Finally, at noon, Tatiana puts her son in a wheelchair and takes him to the kitchen - to his laptop.
- At 12 noon local time, the exchange begins to work, - Roman explains importantly. - I call there, give my data and buy shares. There is no stability, sometimes I lose money, sometimes I earn. Yes, I often make mistakes, so I dream of a mentor who will teach me how to trade professionally. We do not have such people in Bulanash …
The main goal of the "forever young" Roma is to become a real specialist in trading on the stock exchange. All his thoughts are only about this. The desire for a 20-year-old guy, let's face it, is quite unusual.
- Do you want to be friends with some good girl? - we are directly interested in the "boy".
- No, - Roma confidently declares.
However, the stock exchange is not the only thing that interests the young man. Roman has a cherished dream - to return his sight.
- I want to see again. And it is possible. You just need to do the operation. But the doctors are afraid to give me anesthesia. Like, I’m so small that I can’t bear it,”Roma says with resentment in his voice (with such an expression on his face, he looks even more like a stuck toddler).
Until the vision is restored, Roma lives by ear. He studies gemology - the science of stones, is fond of astronomy and esotericism, and continues to listen to the news day after day - maybe one day they will say that they learned to cure his disease.
Expert commentary
There are 50 such cases in the world
- Mandibuloacral dysplasia is a very rare disease. Currently, no more than 50 cases of this disease have been described worldwide. Therefore, we know little about her, - explains Natalya Nikitina, head of the department of medical and genetic counseling at the CDC MCH. - Children are born outwardly healthy. And the symptoms begin to appear from about three years old. Such children have underdeveloped phalanges of the fingers, poor joint mobility, impaired growth. But if the patient does not have heart or lung failure, then nothing threatens his life. However, the quality of life, of course, suffers greatly. It is impossible to cure this disease, the body has already “pressed” the “stop” button.
