WEST MONROE, LA. (KTVE) — Turner Syndrome is an uncurable genetic disorder that affects every 1 in 2000 girls. Someone with Turner Syndrome is missing part of or all of their second X chromosome. We spoke to a local mother and daughter about their experience with Turner Syndrome.
While many aspects of the syndrome are different for everyone who has it, it primarily affects growth within a girl with Turner Syndrome. Mitzi Reed, whose daughter Aliza has the syndrome, said that it went undetected at birth and was not diagnosed in Aliza until she was 10-years-old.
“When my daughter was born, she was an average weight, a little on the small side but nothing alarming. For us, it was at ten when she kind of fell off the growth chart a little bit and went into the three percentiles. Her pediatrician kind of, you know, started asking a few more questions and sent us to an endocrinologist who was able to diagnose it through a karyotype test. She was on growth hormones for five years and thankfully we got her to a most to five feet, so very grateful for that.”
Aliza says that, even though there are difficulties, it does not stop her from thriving in life.
“The main thing I struggle with is learning math and English sometimes because with Turner Syndrome, most kids who have it, they struggle with learning just in general. Just because they have Turner syndrome or difficulties does not mean that they can’t live a normal life and live it to the fullest.”
