Skip To Content
Homepage
Sign In
Search BuzzFeed
California residents can opt out of "sales" of personal data.

    This 4-Year-Old Boy Wants Everyone To Stand Tall For Dwarfism

    Meet Quaden Bayles, the Brisbane boy born with dwarfism who wants to raise awareness of the condition.

    Allan Clarke
    by Allan Clarke

    BuzzFeed News Reporter, Australia

    Meet Quaden.

    Quaden has had four major surgeries, with an average of eight procedures each operation. Surgery is risky because achondroplasia causes shortness of breath and Quaden could stop breathing under the anaesthetic.

    "Every surgery is either going to kill him or save him," says Quaden's mother Yarraka Bayles.

    Quaden has been in hospital for the past month after undergoing emergency surgery to stop fluid from putting pressure on his brain and spinal cord.

    Yarraka says there is still a stigma around dwarfism. "People on the street sometimes stare, point and laugh at Quaden."

    That prejudice prompted Yarraka and Quaden to create the Stand Tall for Dwarfism campaign - supporters include celebrities like Rabbitohs Captain Greg Inglis ...

    Singer Guy Sebastian..

    And The Footy Show's Beau Ryan.

    Quaden hopes to get out of hospital soon and Yarraka says, "he's a strong kid, he doesn't let the pain get to him - he just smiles and puts up with it."

    To find out more about Quaden's campaign check out the Facebook page.

    Facebook: StandTall4Dwarfism

    Like BuzzFeedOZ on Facebook