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Associated Press, Monday, April 19, 2004, Podoliantsi, Ukraine
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PODOLIANTSI, Ukraine - At age 33, Leonid Stadnik wishes he would
stop growing. He's already 8 feet, 4 inches. Recent measurements show that
Stadnik is already 7 inches taller than Radhouane Charbib of Tunisia, listed
by the Guinness Book of World Records as the tallest living man.
He's also gaining on the 8-11 Robert Wadlow, the tallest man in history. Yet
for Stadnik, the prospect of becoming a record-holder would be little
comfort.
"My two-year-old suit's sleeves and pants are now 30 centimeters (12
inches) shorter than I need,'' said Stadnik. "My height is God's punishment.
My life has no sense.''
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Leonid Stadnik, 2.53 meter (8,3 feet) tall, Ukrainian veterinarian, left, pulls a cart as he approaches his house in the village of Podoliantsy, Ukraine
AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky
(Click on image to enlarge it)
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Stadnik's height keeps him confined to this tiny village 130 miles west of
the capital, Kiev.
"Taking a public bus for me is the same as getting into a car's trunk for a
normal person,'' he said.
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Stadnik's unusual growth began after a brain operation at age 14, which is
believed to have stimulated his pituitary gland. Since then, life just keeps
getting harder.
Although he once was able to work as a veterinarian at a cattle farm, he had
to quit three years ago after his feet were frostbitten because he wasn't
able to afford proper shoes for his 17-inch feet.
This month, he finally got a good pair, paid for by some local businessmen.
Their $200 cost was the equivalent of about seven months' worth of the tiny
pension that Stadnik receives in the economically struggling country.
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Leonid Stadnik holds a door as his mother Halyna, left, looks on
AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky
(Click on image to enlarge it)
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Stadnik sleeps on two beds joined lengthwise and moves in a crouch through
the small one-story house that he shares with his mother Halyna.
His weight of about 440 pounds aggravates a recently broken leg, and he
suffers from constant knee pain.
Despite his aches, he tries to keep himself busy with the usual routine of
country life. He works in the garden, tends the family's cows and pigs, and
helps neighbors with their animals.
To relax, he cultivates exotic plants and pampers his tiny, blue and yellow
pet parakeet with his huge hands.
Bronyslav, a neighbor who refused to give his last name, described Stadnik
as the "most unselfish, diligent man of a pure soul.''
His friends, in turn, treat him with the same sort of soft good humor.
They're trying to organize a trip for him to the Carpathian Mountains to
show him that ``there's something in the world taller than you,'' Bronyslav
said.
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A woman touches the fist of Ukrainian veterinarian Leonid Stadnik
AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky
(Click on image to enlarge it)
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Leonid Stadnik tries to dial a cell phone
AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky
(Click on image to enlarge it)
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Leonid Stadnik and his mother Halyna, left, stand behind
the gates of their house
AP
Photo/Efrem Lukatsky
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An unidentified woman, left, tries to measure a height of Leonid
Stadnik
AP Photo/Efrem
Lukatsky
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Associated Press, Monday, April 19, 2004, Podoliantsi, Ukraine
FOR PERSONAL AND ACADEMIC USE ONLY
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