Life as a Teenager with Dwarfism: 30 inches Tall Turning 18 | A True Story

Happy birthday dear Georgia. Happy birthday to you. In Warrington, Cheshire, Georgia Rankin is celebrating her 18th birthday with family and friends. At just 2 foot 7 inches tall, Georgia is not your average teenager. She's Britain's tiniest teen. I'm so going on it later. But being the size of an average 2 year old isn't her biggest hurdle in life. Every day is a struggle. It is really hard being different, being in a wheelchair and being small. And her condition causes her constant pain. I take morphine, diclofenac, paracetamol and lidocaine patch. It's sad that you can't remember those things when you were a child. She's determined to find a way to control her pain. I have been looking into other forms of pain relief because I don't want to be on morphine forever. She also wants to know the answer to a question that has bothered her all her life. Why is she so small? Being undiagnosed does bother me. All I want is answers. Georgia Rankin lives in Warrington with her mum Andrea, a school secretary, her father Simon, who is a police officer, and her 7 year old brother Brodie. Office! Georgia was born normally, full term, no problems during pregnancy. But it wasn't long before Andrea had concerns. I had my suspicions something wasn't quite right with Georgia's normal growth rate. But when she started a few sessions before starting the infants, that's when I noticed because obviously the children who were the same age as Georgia were a lot taller than Georgia. Andrea sought specialist advice at Alderhead Children's Hospital in Liverpool. I was told that her bones had prematurely fused and I'll never ever forget that day. I just thought I was going to pass out. I didn't know anybody whose bones had fused before. Sorry. It was just, you know, it took a long, long time to sink in. Because I didn't know anybody whose child that had happened to. And I couldn't imagine Georgia living a normal life the size she was. All the doctors could tell Andrea was that Georgia had a form of skeletal dysplasia, the scientific term for dwarfism. One of the side effects of her condition is permanent pain. I'm in pain all the time and it's constant, like there's no end to it. From the moment I wake up, from going to bed, my pain is a big cloud over my life. The doctors explained that Georgia's pain stems mainly from her hips. If you look at the anatomy of any bone anywhere, the shaft of the bone is called the diaphysis and the bits at the ends are called the epiphysis. And in Georgia's case, it's the epiphysis that's involved. And so it isn't growing normally. The femoral head has gone into such a funny shape that it's effectively a square peg in a round hole. And every time she did try to rotate or move it, the edges of the square were catching the corners of the round cup and causing pain. Georgia's pain is so severe that today her consultant Mr Bruce is hoping to reduce it by removing the top of one of her hip bones in a major operation. And what that involves is simply taking the ball off the top of the hip and leaving the gap between the end of the bone and the socket to fill with a fibrous scar tissue that isn't very easy to weight-bear on but that moves without pain. Hello. How are you? Good, thank you. Are you ready for today? Yes, definitely. OK, good. 12 months ago, Mr Bruce performed an identical operation on her left hip bone and it did reduce her pain. So do you find that this one, that it's changed? Compared to this one, like, lifting that one's quite easy but that is a lot harder. Yeah. But it is like... But it's got no pain? Yeah. We couldn't wait for Georgia to be given the operation to obviously ease that pain, to take away that horrible hip pain which she'd lived with for years. She was desperate for those operations and I think that shows how much pain she was in. The operation on Georgia's hip has taken over four hours. The operations were really painful and I was on a lot of painkillers as well. Like, I had an epidural, I was completely immobile, I couldn't move, like, the top half of my body. So that's really horrible to wake up knowing that I can't even sit up. Georgia's surgeon was hoping, really, to try and alleviate the pain as much as he could. Unfortunately, my pain is still really, really bad. Today I've woken up in agony. I have no energy in the world. I feel, like, rubbish. So I'm going to take my morphine for this morning and, yeah. Stop it! Come on. Come on, choppers. Despite her pain and lack of mobility, Georgia just wants to be like every other 18-year-old. And today, it's her first day at beauty college. I am really nervous to start make-up school because it's something new and being around people who will be my age and that obviously brings back memories of when I was in high school. I love it. Hair on fleek, Georgia. Thanks, Mum. Good luck and tell me all about it later. All right. Georgia didn't really have a good time at high school. She needed an electric wheelchair. I think it isolated her. She wasn't getting invited to parties or, you know, even for lunch. If they saw Georgia at the end on the table, people would move away and go and sit somewhere else and then literally, like, turn their back a lot. Are you picking up or Mum? I'm picking up. If you give us a text or a bell... Yeah. ..when you're ready and I'll come and get you. OK, that's fine. And it's just heartbreaking cos, like, you're sending her off every day to school to obviously learn. And to enjoy and have fun cos that's supposed to be the best days, isn't it? Hi, I'm here for the Melvick make-up course. Yes, we're up on the third floor. OK, thank you. It is really hard being different, being in a wheelchair and being small, especially when I'm with a lot of people my own age, because I feel like, are they judging me? Oh, God. Good morning. Good morning. How are you? I'm good, thank you. Are you excited for your course? Yes, very excited. Good. Well, we've got a little place here for you. Thank you. Come round and meet the girls cos I know you've not met them yet. No. It'll be nice for you to come round. Yeah, thank you. And today we're doing festival make-up as well. Oh, perfect. With having small limbs, it can be quite hard with bushes and stuff because some bushes can be really big and I do find it difficult to, like, reach for products and spraying products because my wrists are really weak as well. You're really loving it. Yeah. Yeah. It's absolutely gorgeous. Bye. Thank you so much. Bye. Have a good evening. I'm so happy that today went so well and it went so much better than I expected. It doesn't matter that I'm small, it doesn't matter that I'm in a wheelchair, I can still be what I want to, like, do, which is make-up, and I really hope I pass this course. I'm so excited. Yay! I am in quite a lot of pain and it gets me down a lot. My life is pain. It's not, like, just me being small. The main part of my life is pain. I can't cope without, like, painkillers. That is literally going to be my life, pain. Georgia Rankin is Britain's tiniest teen, but her biggest hurdle isn't being smaller than an average two-year-old. I'm in pain every day, all night, all day, and it's just horrendous. You do worry how much pain that she does go through and seeing, probably... It's getting me upset now, really, to do that. I just don't like to see her in pain. And it's just heartbreaking. Each day, she depends on a cocktail of strong drugs just to function. I take morphine three or four times a day, diglifenac twice a day, paracetamol four times a day, and lidocaine patch. Georgia and her parents are concerned about her dependency on medication. We worry about the long-term side effects. We were hopeful that Georgia would be able to wean off morphine, which isn't the case. But we worry because what is going on internally? Is it doing any damage? I have been looking into other, like, forms of pain relief because I don't want to be on morphine forever. OK, which would you be doing today for hypodermic? I'm doing it to, like, try and help relieve pain because I get pain on the top of my thigh bones and also just to strengthen my legs because, obviously, I don't move my legs a lot, so just doing that just helps. OK, so we'll change your route through here. OK, thank you. Keep kicking on the legs. Very good. I love being in water so much. It feels so relaxing to be able to let my legs flop and just be free. With me being in a wheelchair constantly, I'm unable to move my legs. I'm just stuck, so being in the water, it just really helps with my muscles. We're going to go to the next exercise, which is lying back. So, yesterday, I had my first hydrotherapy session, which I really loved, and I can't feel any difference in pain. I'm still in the same pain level. I know that it's just not really helping in the pain department, but I've enjoyed it, and maybe after a few, like, sessions, I might be able to see a difference. I don't know. I'll just have to wait and see. Georgia's make-up course has now become her focus. It's the start of her second week. Hello! Good morning. The make-up course is going so well. I am enjoying it so much. Remember, we're going to put on the concealer afterwards as well. Oh, yeah. Why don't you blend it? It's fine. I'm trying my best to do it and come out with a qualification. Oh, Georgia! Yeah? Can't fit it for proper... It's our major, but it's a little one. I don't know what to do about it. The lift has broke in the building. Oh, my God. It never breaks. Because it's Psychology Weekend, the engineer can't get here until much later. So, bring your mum and let's see what Mum says. Hi, Mum. I'm at the make-up course and the lift's broke. Apparently, you can't get a person to fix it till Tuesday because it's bank holiday. I was just furious. You can't tell me that somebody trapped, a disabled person is trapped on a floor, two, three floors up, who can't get down in their wheelchair. That person cannot walk, cannot stand, couldn't bum shuffle down the stairs if she wanted to. So, your mum's not too worried, anyway? Just a little bit. A little bit? Cos the wheelchair's so, like, fragile and, yeah, heavy. So, the lady rang me from the reception and I'm like, she is up there on that floor. Whether she's in that lift or not, that is an emergency. Georgia's constant discomfort means she is only able to attend college for half a day at a time. She was due to finish today at 2.30pm. Hi. Hi. The engineer's just arrived. Yay! Now, what he's saying is, if he can't fix the lift, because he's the engineer, he's happy to take you in the lift with him to get you down the stairs. Oh, that'd be fine, yeah. Are you all... That'd be... Yeah. Are you happy with that? That'd be fine, yes. That's great. But I'll update you as and when, cos every log is on site now. Is that OK? OK, thank you. Thank you. I'm out of the building! Yay! See you next week, then. I haven't got many friends. I'm very wary of people. Georgia's best friend is 20-year-old Becca. They met at school four years ago. Becca is a really funny and outgoing girl. She makes me laugh so much. Becca sees past my size and disability. She isn't bothered by it at all, and I think that's what I love about her. She never judges me. Like most 18-year-old girls, Georgia is very fashion-conscious and loves shopping. I did try and find some tops, and I want some shorts, but I don't know if I'm going to find them. But just getting to the shops can be a challenge. I have to plan my trips out. I can't do it like everybody else. No, that wasn't smooth! With my disability, I have to make sure that I ring the train station the day before and make sure they have a ramp available for me. Thank you. That top? Oh, my God, I love that. And it's hard to stay on trend when you're just 2ft 7". It's just way too big. That's pretty. You could wear that. It's not me, it's just too big. It's so pretty, though. It's massive! Oh, it's a mate. It's just too big. It's easy for Becca to be able to go in the adult section and pick something and find things that she likes, but I can't. I just don't think there's anything here for me, do you? No. Should we go and have a look in the children's wear? Yeah. Rather than being able to choose what an adult would wear, Georgia has to buy clothes designed for 3- to 4-year-olds. That's exactly what I don't like. It's awful. They've been, like, looking at it. It can be so frustrating. I have the money and I know what I want to buy, but when I'm in the children's section, everything is pink, fluffy, really babyish, and it's just rubbish. I like this one. I think if I actually tried it on, I'd be able to fully see. Look at that. It's under my armpit, nearly. It's just way too big and too tall. They're so cute. They fit, but you can't see my toe. That's stupid. Do you think that's stupid? I always get grutted like this because, obviously, my feet aren't that long, so I can get away with boots, but shoes like this, I can't, so... It's a no, unfortunately. Take them off. Yeah. Your shoes over there. I already get them on mine, don't I? With Georgia having all her problems and issues along the way, it's definitely made us closer. Right. So, what are you having on? I want to go chrome, but not all chrome. Despite Georgia's small stature, we still manage to do things that mothers and daughters do. We love to get our nails done. We love anything girly like that. Georgia loves having her nails done. It really makes her feel confident. We're going to a wedding. Oh, they're so pretty. And I've got red in my dress. How old are you? 18. 18?! Yeah. Oh, I'm 91. Can't believe it. I hate it when people mistake me for a child. I find it really frustrating. I'm obviously a lot older, and I do find it so hard to, like, or just handle. Are you guys up to anything nice this weekend? Yeah, we're going to Denver, Colorado. Really? Yeah. What are you going there for? For the Little Peoples of America convention. Oh, what's that about? It's, like, a really big gathering of people who have got short stature and things like that. And there's doctors there, and there's, like, there's, like, events on, isn't there, and stuff like that. The family are flying across the Atlantic this weekend to attend the Little People of America convention, the largest gathering of dwarves in the world. With key medical experts available, Georgia has one question she wants answered. Being undiagnosed can be really frustrating because I don't know what further health issues I will have in the future, and I don't have anyone to compare and relate to, so it is really hard and frustrating. I absolutely love them. Thank you. I'd take the denim jacket, you know, if it's a little bit cool, cos I'm not sure... I love my denim jacket. I think it's warm, but it's just nice to have. That would look nice as well. I'm really excited to be attending the Little People of America convention. I've seen it on telly and it's, like, amazing. Get your sandals. No, I'm not bringing sandals with me. No, take the black ones in, honestly. I don't want to. Let the toes see the sun. For the first time, I will be in the majority more than the minority, which is massive to me. I hate my feet because I feel like they're really small and fat. They're like Mars bars. Mars bars. I hate them. I just think they're so... They're like paddles. You call them horrible things. Pig's trotters. Cheesy little Mars bars. You've got fun-sized feet. They are so cute. I want to bring them cos I like the converse. So, it's the day before Denver. We are going tomorrow morning and it's the night time now. So, I have packed and everything and I am excited to be with people who has, like, similar stature to me. That would be really nice. And I'm really excited to meet loads of new doctors and I probably won't be able to sleep because I am, like... I have got butterflies. I'm so excited. Dad, can you get a shower? Yeah, no problem. Georgia, being of short stature, she finds it very difficult doing things that we take for granted on a day-to-day basis. Are you having your hair washed today? I just need you to scrunch yourself and put your hair up. OK. OK? For example, we have to shower her cos she can't reach certain parts of her body when she's showering. Is that all right? Yeah, that's fine. Even dressing herself, she finds that very difficult. We have to help her putting her clothes on, pulling up her tights. I find it really frustrating because I just want to be an 18-year-old girl who gets changed herself without having so much help, but it's something that I've just got to accept and deal with. That's better. There's wrinkles in my tights. Nora bought you wrinkles, she hates them. I always say, get the wrinkles out. How's that? All right? Yes. Let's go. Get everything you need. Yeah, everything's in the suitcase. Everything's in the pocket? Yeah, everything. Phone? Yeah. Good. Yeah, in the pocket. Let's get ready. Yeah. Georgia has a 10-hour flight, but when she gets to America, she will be surrounded by people of her own size. Even more importantly, she also is determined to talk to the experts and find some answers. I'm feeling really tired. I'm feeling really, really nervous, like, terrified, because it's such a big convention. Britain's tiniest teen, Georgia Rankin, and her family are in Denver, Colorado, to attend the Little People of America convention. It's going to be really strange being in the majority more than the minority. It's the first time in my life that I'm with people who are really similar to me. I'm really looking forward to meeting, like, lots of new friends, because at home I have a lot of average-sized people as friends and I can't completely relate to them. But here, like, we're all the same. Hello. Hi, my name's Kuki. Thank you. Where are you from? England. Oh, wow. Yeah. So you've come from far away. We have, yeah. Little People of America is a non-profit organisation that provides support to people of short stature and their families. So, are you going to any workshops? We're hoping to meet Dr Boba and Dr Hat, to see if they can help with any diagnosis. Good luck. Thank you. I think you're going to have a great time. Yeah. And hopefully you meet a lot of new great people. Oh, thanks so much. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. For over 60 years, this conference has become the biggest gathering of short people in the world. We're super excited to be celebrating our 60th anniversary here in the Rocky Mountain state of Colorado. We have roughly 1,400 people here and we're excited for that. But first, some shopping. We've got a whole range of bags in the small size. Ah, OK. We have a kind of an innovative system that includes detachable adjustable straps. So, for her chair, I would take this and put it at the end of the ring and make a loop. That is such a good idea. Oh, wow. And so we have, in fact, two loops. OK. And then we're going to go right here. Love your bag. Thank you. So, Congress are amazing, but you probably want something a little bit more grand. Obviously. I like heels. Heels are one thing I can't get at home. So, I have cute little sling bags. Oh, they're nice. Yeah. How much walking do you do? I do no walking. No walking? No. So, you can have as high a heel as you want... I know. ..and it's not going to matter. 26. I can go down to a 24. If you want to close the toe, if you want to adjust the platform, we can do that. No, that's not for me. Even at the Little People shoe stall, Georgia can't buy off the peg. She will have to order a custom size to be handmade. Hi, my name's Georgia. I'm undiagnosed. What? Undiagnosed. Being undiagnosed does bother me. I do really worry about my skeleton and joints, as I never expected to be in this much pain. I don't know anyone who is the same size as me and has chronic pain like me, but now I'm just getting to an adult. All I want is answers. What kind of dwarfism do you have? I'm undiagnosed. You're not diagnosed? Not diagnosed yet. I can't believe you haven't been diagnosed. There are over 200 types of dwarfism and each has its own medical complications. So, what kind of dwarfism do you have? I have kinesindrome. So, basically, like, you're missing type 2 collagen in your bone. I think the most problems we have is our legs being a little... Like, bowed? Yeah. Yeah. Like Georgia, it's Kiki's first time at the convention. Ariana has been three times before. Do you have a boyfriend, Georgia? No. Like, I used to really want one, but I'm a bit more chilled and, like, my best friend and stuff. No, but I like that. I like that. I probably would say that I'm a late developer when it comes to love. I'm not on the lookout, but I'll say, like, I always believe in when the time's right, it'll happen. Like, I'm not going to be running, like, for love and, like, looking for it. I just kind of, like, wait until it happens. Kiki and Ariana, though, are already playing the dating game. Have you got a boyfriend? Yeah, he's from Maryland, and we, like, just started dating. Yeah. Oh, wow. It's exciting. I'm excited. And, like, I dated an average guy for, like, two and a half years. Oh, wow. Yeah, and then I broke things off. Yeah. It is what it is. Yeah, exactly. But, like, now that, like, I'm dating a little person, I think it's fine. Yeah, I think it's better too, cos you're more connected. You can connect so much. Yeah. People probably think that just because I have short stature, I have to go out with someone who has short stature, which is not the case. I do find, like, the average height man, like, a lot more attractive. Like, I feel like with your height, it's, like, so much easier to just, like, grab him by the hand or, like, you know... Yeah, it's not like... Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. With my disability and health, I feel like with an average guy, I feel like they would be able to help me a lot more, and with someone who has short stature, I just feel like I wouldn't be able to get help, and they would also need help, so it just... Yeah, it just wouldn't work. Have you ever had a boyfriend? No, never. No. Never. Georgia may only be, you know, two foot seven and 18, but she is just stunningly beautiful. I just don't think she knows it, so I think she struggles, you know, like, when it comes to, sort of, boys, and she doesn't feel confident in that way. World experts on dwarfism speak each year at the convention. Georgia and her mum have honed in on geneticist Dr Jacqueline Hecht and have managed to grab five minutes with her. So when did you notice that she was not growing? When she started preschool. Georgia is hoping for answers about her undiagnosed condition. So then they told you she had a skeletal... Yeah, it came back as a problem, undiagnosed skeletal dysplasia, yeah. But no exact diagnosis? No official diagnosis, no. Come over here, I just want to look a little closely. So, are these real? No. I wish they were. She wishes, yeah. I know I do wish. So what do your nails look like underneath before you put these? They're kind of wide and flat. OK, so you're pretty loose, right? Yeah. You have pretty wide joints. Yes. And you have... OK, looks good. So take off your shoes. Are your legs bowed at all? Slightly. Slightly, yeah. I don't have your X-rays, but when I look at you, my first impression was I thought that you had pseudo because you have a very attractive face, you have very sharp fingers, and your toenails are compatible. And you have very wide joints, you know what you call them? Yeah, joints, very, yeah. And very flexible, and you can't extend your elbows. Pseudoachondroplasia, or pseudo, is an inherited disorder of bone growth, which is generally discovered at around two to three years of age. So is hip pain a big factor? Huge, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Babies with achondroplasia have a normal birth length, and between about 18 and 24 months, their growth begins to fall off. It's great seeing you. Thank you. And you enjoy a PA? Many pseudos have great jobs and have had very productive lives, and they have a normal lifespan. We've shown that in natural history studies. You're so pretty! Oh, thank you! In Dr Heck's opinion, I have pseudoachondroplasia. That instantly, when she told me that, I felt a relief. It was so nice to, like, know that I have a actual condition, and it was such a nice feeling. Through her own research, George has heard there are more radical pain relief options in America, so she's taking a day away from the convention to investigate with her dad. They are visiting a cannabis dispensary in Denver to meet 17-year-old Colton, who used to suffer pain levels similar to George's. I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease when I was 11, and I started to experience numerous side effects from it, one of which being constant abdominal pain. What was the pain like? The pain was like eating a bunch of razor blades. Colton's doctors prescribed him a cocktail of strong painkillers, similar to those Georgia needs to take each day. I was on morphine, Oxycontin, Vicodin, Azacol, Remicade, Methotrexate. All the drugs came with side effects, and Colton's health got worse. After a lot of research, the family then decided to try cannabis as an alternative form of pain relief. So me and my dad packed up a suitcase full of clothes. We just left southern Illinois, where I'm from, and we were living in hotels for about the first month. We went to a recreational dispensary, and we made pot brownies. The brownies worked, and the family then found someone who could provide them with cannabis oil capsules. That's 15 milligrams of CBD and THC. I take about four of these a day. The medical cannabis oil Colton takes doesn't give a high like smoking or eating the drug in different forms does. So seven months after starting cannabis, we had a colonoscopy to see if the cannabis was actually working. Yeah. And the doctor came in with the results, and it was completely clear. Oh, wow. And I had achieved complete clinical remission from the cannabis alone. I haven't had any pain for three years since I started taking cannabis. It is the most amazing thing that we've ever done for our son. What kind of medications are you on? I used to be on like fentanyl, tramadol, castamine and stuff. I've been on morphine now for a few years, but it's not the best. It makes me so drowsy, and I look really ill with it down there. Yeah, you can look a little bit spaced out sometimes. Yeah, I can look really spaced out, yeah. It's kind of crazy that there's so many side effects to all of these medications. Morphine is horrible on your liver. It's just not helping the condition that you have. It's actually making other conditions. That's worrying for me as a parent because George has been on different kinds of medications for three, four years. We don't know what damage it's doing to our insides, really. You guys are in so much pain all the time. And we are just like, there's nothing we can do. You can't believe how quickly it's worked for him. No. From going through all the stuff that he's gone through and what's happened to him. Yeah. To work within, what, a week, a month? Cannabis has been illegal in the UK since 1971. If it ever came out in the UK on a trial basis, would you consider doing it on a trial basis? Definitely. I'm really frustrated. I can't try cannabis oil. Knowing there's something out there that is natural and can help me become pain free. But I can't have access to it because of where I live. It's just really hard to understand. Denver is amazing and the convention has been incredible. I've met so many lovely people and amazing friends. I've never been around so many small people. I just feel like I was in my own zone. I was really happy there. Yeah, it was just incredible. Ladies and gentlemen, would you please welcome the Stampede Riders. Georgia's returning to the UK tomorrow. At last, she has answers about her condition. But as cannabis oil is illegal in the UK, she needs to find another way to control her ever-present pain. So I have just woken up from a really bad sleep. I'm in so much pain that I pretty much just want to stay in bed. This isn't unusual for Georgia. Her pain regularly gets so bad she can end up spending two to three days of her week in bed. It's just nice to have days like this where I can be in bed, I can be myself. I don't have to put a front on. I can really, really hope it really just calms down and gets a little bit more comfortable for me because at the moment it's unbearable. Hydrotherapy hasn't eased Georgia's pain and she can't take cannabis oil because it is illegal in the UK. So she heads back to her consultant, Mr Bruce, to see if there are any other options. How is your pain now? I can feel it right at the top of my thigh bone and it can hurt the inside of my thigh. So how do you manage that? Do the pain team still look after you? I'm still under the pain team, yeah. Because obviously she's still on morphine and that's not gone down. Other than the painkillers, Georgia, do they use any other pain relieving strategies for you like hypnotherapy or anything like that? Well, hydrotherapy was one. That is lovely but it doesn't really help the pain. While you're here though, can I have a little look at your leg? Yeah, of course. Because there are other types of pain that you could be getting that's got nothing to do with the hip joints but to do with small nerves around the muscles of the leg. And if that's what it is, then there are some strategies you can use to treat that. Come on then, let's have a little look. So this is pain when you move the leg then still? Yeah, it just feels like sore in the calf. So one of the other questions I was going to ask you is do you get pain in any of your other joints because you've got the same problem? I do get pain in my knee but not like... And your shoulders and your wrists, elbows? I can get bad pain in my wrists and sometimes my shoulders if I get lifted up too much or if I use my arms too much. Okay, so we can put you back in your chair now. What I was just wanting to do there was just to make sure that this pain you were having wasn't something that we could solve for you with a simple injection or with some simple advice but that's not what the pain is. So just thinking about my job, you know, what I've got to do, can I think of anything else I can do that might help with those symptoms? Probably not. So I think you manage with it. It's not ideal but you cope with it. You've got the pain people giving you strategies and things. So from my point of view, nothing I think that I should be doing that could be helpful. It's not the news Georgia wanted to hear. I don't have any other options regarding my pain relief. Hydrotherapy didn't work. Cannabis oil would be something I would consider but because of where I live, I just don't have any access to it. So I'm just having to stick with my morphine and other prescribed medications. But despite her many challenges, Georgia's determined to enjoy life. It's her birthday next week and like most teenagers, she wants to go on holiday on her own. What are you doing for your birthday? I'm thinking of going away with my best friend. We're thinking of going to a mini festival. I've never been to one. How long is it? I don't know actually, I think it's a couple of days. But I think we'll be going for the day and we're not staying over. We'll be a hotel kind of person. I'm nervous about Georgia going to the festival because she is so, so tiny. So I can't even imagine Georgia in that whole massive crowd. So have you been away on your own before? No, never. I've only been away with obviously family, mum and dad, but this time's like my first time. I am nervous about going on holiday on my own because I've never done it before. And so I'm going to be so excited to have the independence. Some of my students used to go on work experience there. It's quite good, especially if you kind of like that style of makeup. My makeup course is going so well. I am learning so much. And the first shade I'm going to be using today is this shade here called Golden Ochre. And this is going to go in my crease. Using the skills she's learned on her course, Georgia's decided to start her own online makeup vlog from home. I am now going to do my concealer and then move on to my lower lash line. I am so, so happy for her because that is her passion in life. And, you know, years ago I just used to say to Si, you know, what will she end up doing in life? Will she end up just being stuck behind a desk? I live life on the edge and I'm going to put this green eye shadow on my lash line because it just blends it all together. I would love to grow my YouTube channel and have a really good business, maybe have my own makeup line. That would be a dream of mine. And that is the finished makeup look. I really hope you enjoyed this video. If you did, please give it a thumbs up and subscribe if you haven't already. See ya! Today, Georgia is setting off with her best friend Becca to Reading Festival for her very first holiday without her parents. Are you excited? Yeah. I am with you. I'm really excited. It's going to be good. It's going to be so good, isn't it? Hello. I've got a room booked for Georgia Ranking, please. Perfect. I have your reservation, please. As Georgia's getting older, I think she will definitely want more and more independence. That's definitely been evident over the last sort of 12 months. She is developing into her own person, you know, she likes what she likes and I think she's quite strong-willed in that way. Yeah, I've got a store. I bought one. Thank you. They're having tea by Grand Lemonade? That is so nice. Now I'm becoming an adult, I would like a lot more independence to be a little bit more free and not feel like I can't do much. I'm a typical teenager. I may only be a third of the height, but I love doing what the average teenager loves doing. Although Georgia wants to be like every other 19-year-old, she draws the line at sleeping in a tent. Her and Becca are staying at a four-star hotel. Who needs more food when you've got champagne? Somebody told me it was somebody's birthday today. Thank you so much. And back home in Warrington, there's even more good news. I have just been told that I have passed my make-up course and I am now officially a level two qualified make-up artist. It's crazy. I can say like, oh yeah, I'm a make-up artist, like that is just a pinch me moment. It doesn't matter that I'm small, it doesn't matter that I'm in a wheelchair, I can still be what I want to be, which is a make-up artist. Smile. I am absolutely over the moon. I can't, I just can't, I have no words. Yes.