Claudio Oliveira, born with his neck “folded back” on itself.
Some TV programs stand out from the teeming viewing throng by coming up with unusual features that compel attention and concern due to their inherent “shock value.”
They include the purposefully disturbing medical program melodramatically titled “Body Bizarre.”
Some of the medical oddities featured on the “cautionary” show include: A rare form of gigantism of the limbs. Triplets born with Crouzon syndrome, a genetic disorder characterized by the fusion of skull bones, affecting the shape of the head and face.
A rare case of polycystic ovary syndrome, which results in excessive hair growth in women. And vitiligo, which causes patchy loss of skin coloring.
To its credit, after hooking and “shocking” viewers into watching its features, “Body Bizarre” provides up-to-date information on how these “incurable” medical conditions are now being treated, cured or at least mitigated by doctors and scientists who refuse to take “never” for an answer.
In so doing, they inspire patients and victims to similarly not give up the fight. Other beneficiaries include the patients’ relatives and caregivers, who now dare to hope for an end to their shared suffering.
Another sector positively affected by this renewed optimism is the viewing public.
Watching the “bizarre” show, they “extrapolate” from the rare cases being featured a more optimistic attitude when facing daunting problems in their own lives. Thus, viewing the program is a “win-win-win” experience for everyone concerned.
One of the most persuasively inspirational cases featured on “Body Bizarre” is that of Claudio Oliveira, a Brazilian who was born with his neck “folded back” on itself.
Consequently, he was given practically no chance to survive, his mother was “realistically” told to stop feeding him when he was a baby.
To make things worse, he had severely deformed limbs, and his hands and arms were practically useless. But Claudio’s loving and determinedly hopeful caregivers refused to give up and took care of him as best as they could.
More importantly, they motivated him to keep fighting and not give up the daunting struggle to remain active and productive, despite his “hopeless” condition.
Claudio taught himself to “type” with a pen in his mouth, make phone calls and move a computer mouse with his lips. Later, especially made shoes enabled him to move around.
No longer “helpless” and not at all hopeless, he was able to go to school and even qualified as an accountant, enabling him to no longer be financially dependent on his relatives.
In addition, he’s become a motivational speaker of international repute, thus expanding his influence and ability to inspire beyond his Brazilian parameters.
What makes Claudio’s case powerfully persuasive is the fact that it’s an “earned” miracle, due to his proactive involvement in his own transformation.
It was a long and arduous process, but he eventually triumphed over his many severe adversities, inspiring viewers with fewer and less daunting problems to get their acts together. If Claudio could do the “impossible,” so can they!