My bro
There's quite a big gap between me and my brother -- almost eleven years, in fact -- which means we've tended to fight tooth and nail ever since he was born. He was always sniffing around me like a little puppy when we were kids, always doing his best to annoy me in that special little way that only younger siblings can. Of course, he got away with murder, what with being so much younger than everyone else and knowing just when to turn on the waterworks.

Despite this, and all of the irritation he's caused me over the years -- including one memorable incident where he 'accidentally' set one of my girlfriends a little bit on fire (a story for later, methinks, when I have more time to type it out in its glorious fullness) -- I've always been incredibly protective of him. For a kid, he's had an extremely tough life. He not only suffers from pituitary dwarfism (which means that, even though he's only about three feet tall, he's still roughly in the right proportion, and not particularly stocky), but also from Crohn's disease, which meant he had to have an operation when he was about six to remove a section of his small intestine that was so badly inflamed it was in serious danger of killing him. As a result, he's only capable of absorbing about half of the nutrients his body takes in, leading him to be ridiculously underweight (to the extent that, even in a family of beanpoles, he sticks out as being excessively skinny).

He's ten now, and weighs no more than about three and a half stone.

He ain't heavy, but...

/coat
(Ellinikos contains a source of phenylalanine, Sun 4 Jan 2009, 22:14, 6 replies)

this wins
the internet
(An amusing and topical username, Sun 4 Jan 2009, 22:54, closed)

omg!
if only i could click 'i like this' more than once!!
(buggeringfuckering Time's a great healer, unless you've got a rash., Sun 4 Jan 2009, 23:22, closed)

Pfffft!
Kinda saw that coming :)
( Noeli overtheshoulderboulderholderthingstraplatchboobs, Mon 5 Jan 2009, 7:37, closed)

ermmm
I don't get it :/
(Freddles, Mon 5 Jan 2009, 14:46, closed)

I was going to do this
you've saved me the bother :)

Nicely done, sir.
( chart cat has an itch, Wed 7 Jan 2009, 8:41, closed)

Click
well done
(Affero-Dolor made noodles using a cuppa soup on, Wed 7 Jan 2009, 14:03, closed)