User: 951357

I came across your comment while thinking about one of my nieces who is probably going to be in a position like yours pretty soon. And at first I figured that I couldn't be sure if what you said was for real, since I hadn't thought that doctors would give growth hormone to a 13 year old who was 5-6. But then I decided that in case there really is a person suffering behind all this, I had to say something.

Gosh...I really hope your parents are trying to help you through this...granted, it is a tough situation for everyone, but they really should have anticipated how this would play out if your brother's treatments succeeded. I mean, it no doubt constantly goes through your mind that if it wasn't for your birth order, you presumably would have been the one to get the treatment. And the sudden and drastic reversal you have suffered would make any young man feel as you do. That they would give you some of the things he has grown out of implies they really may not understand what you are going through.

So, if they didn't prepare for this, or don't know how to handle it now so are sort of letting you figure it out on your own, you have to believe that this won't always be the big deal it is right now. This won't change how you feel at this moment, but you will move past it. However, it will depend almost completely on you.

When I was a kid, I was always shorter than EVERYONE else and it did have an effect on my confidence in those years. But I am quite a bit older now (and still shorter than most people) and it really just isn't an issue anymore.

I'm sure your mom and dad and other people who care about you have told you 'size doesn't matter' and all that stuff. And right now that doesn't make you feel any better. But really, having to deal with something like this, is what makes you a better, more capable man...

...the kind of guy who doesn't run away from a challenge...who knows how to treat people well in difficult situations...who will excel at the hard things other people avoid. I think it has something to do with needing to overcompensate a little because of the preferential treatment taller people get. At least that might be what starts it. But then, having those kind of abilities becomes who you are, and so people look to you for wisdom, support and guidance.

Also, keep in mind how really unhappy and unsatisfied people tend to be in life...all the rich, good-looking, and "perfect-height" people who take drugs, get divorces, commit suicide...those people all thought the exterior things were what counted and so never learned how to be happy on the inside. I'm telling you, having to face real, long-term challenges like the one you are facing is what really makes a good man.

Yeah, your current circumstance is spectacularly lousy. And your brother is acting like any immature 14 year old would if he could get away with it. But you are always going to be older than him...you are always going to do the important things first, you will always have that many more years ahead of him in everything. And whenever he stops acting like a spoiled brat he will need your help in dealing with life. If he DOESN'T get past this, he is the one who is going to have a really unhappy life. Not that you can bring yourself to care too much about this right now, considering how he is treating you.

However, it will be more up to you, than him, how your relationship turns out down the road.

You have got a really hard challenge in front of you. And I hope you can learn to look at this as it really is - a tough lesson in suffering through sudden adversity, which you are learning very early in life, and so is putting you way ahead of everyone else. You're 18, so old enough to give it some real thought.