"When he came out, I was quite shocked (...) I didn't think a person or a small baby could ever look like that."
We go back to 1993, when the birth of a baby boy named Tom Tennant from Southeast Australia stunned not only his parents and doctors, but almost the entire world.
The story of his mysterious condition, which left him with enough skin to cover the body of a 5-year-old child, has everyone wondering what kind of life this boy will live.
Even before birth, ultrasounds hinted at something very unusual. Tom's parents knew their baby would be different, but no ultrasound could have prepared them for the seriousness of the condition.
When they were told that something was wrong with their baby, they even considered terminating the pregnancy, but fortunately that didn't happen.
"When he came out, I was quite shocked (...) I didn't think a person or a small baby could ever look like that."
We go back to 1993, when the birth of a baby boy named Tom Tennant from Southeast Australia stunned not only his parents and doctors, but almost the entire world.
The story of his mysterious condition, which left him with enough skin to cover the body of a 5-year-old child, has everyone wondering what kind of life this boy will live.
Even before birth, ultrasounds hinted at something very unusual. Tom's parents knew their baby would be different, but no ultrasound could have prepared them for the seriousness of the condition.
When they were told that something was wrong with their baby, they even considered terminating the pregnancy, but fortunately that didn't happen.
Luckily, Tom's father made the right decision. "We talked about it and decided that whatever is written will be written, and we moved forward," says his father, Jeff Tennant.
In an interview with 60 Minutes Australia, Tom's father, Jeff Tennant, said in 2003: "When he came out, I was quite shocked (...) I didn't think a person or a small baby could ever look like that."
His mother also recounts the moment she first saw her baby boy. "My heart was in my throat, but at the same time it was wonderful to pick him up and hug him," she says.
Since the cause was unclear, there was no treatment or solution available. Their only hope was that as Tom aged, he would “grow into” his skin and the wrinkles would diminish.
Over the years, Tom spent a lot of time in the hospital, not because he was sick, but because doctors wanted to investigate his condition and figure out how to help him. Since the literature had never documented a case like his before, it was difficult for them to learn what caused so much excess skin.
After a series of investigations, they were finally able to give Tom and his parents some answers.
Namely, experts saw similarities between Tom's appearance and that of a Chinese Shar Pei dog. They found that the level of hyaluronic acid in Tom's skin was 100 times higher than normal, as is the case with Shar Pei puppies.
Knowing that these levels drop as puppies grow older, doctors hoped that the same would eventually happen to Tom. And they were right.
However, until he reached this point in his life, Tom had experienced certain difficulties. It should be noted that he had always been a nice boy who liked the way he looked.
Childhood and growing up
Growing up, Tom faced a number of challenges. He was loved in his hometown and considered something of a local celebrity, but some people couldn't help but make fun of him, especially after he started school. Some children refused to play with him.
But he didn't let that get him down and soon made lots of friends and fully integrated into the school community. Over the years, Tom still looked a little different, although his appearance was far from what it had been at birth.
In 2003, he was asked if he worried about how his friends perceived him. Tom replied: "Not really (…) because they're my friends and they don't care what I look like."
In an interview with 60 Minutes, he said that when he looks in the mirror, he sees "a good and loving person."
He added: "Sometimes people say I look cool, sometimes I look really cool, and sometimes they don't say anything."
His parents were always proud of their special son. “He’s a good boy (…) Everything he’s achieved – he studies well, he does everything,” said Tom’s father.
His parents claimed that from the moment he was born, they never intended to hide him. They firmly believed that true beauty comes from within and is not limited to appearances.
It's been 20 years since Tom and his parents gave an interview to 60 Minutes in 2003. Today, Tom looks completely normal, without any excess skin.
Although his story didn't receive much media attention while he was growing up, except, of course, for his birth, many people wondered what Tom looked like today.
Looking at social media, there is little news about Tom's life. His Facebook page reveals that he has married the love of his life, Hannah.
The couple seems happy and apparently live in Frankston, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
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