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Supatra Sasuphan has told of her delight at being named the 'World's Hairiest Girl.' She has been teased her entire life by other children calling her “monkey face” and “wolf girl”, but now the 11-year-old has been given a Guinness World Record and she says it has helped her become extremely popular at school. "I'm very happy to be in the Guinness World Records! A lot of people have to do a lot to get in," she said. "All I did was answer a few questions and then they gave it to me."
Picture: BRONEK KAMINSKI / BARCROFT MEDIA
Supatra, from Thailand, suffers from Hypertrichosis caused by a faulty chromosome. Before the condition, also known as Ambras Syndrome, was understood, sufferers were branded 'werewolves.' Supatra has thick hair growing over her face, ears, arms, legs and back. Even laser treatment has failed to stop the hair growth. Supatra's hair has got increasingly thicker as she has grown up so her mother has to cut it back regularly for her.
Picture: BRONEK KAMINSKI / BARCROFT MEDIA
While most sufferers have been shunned, Supatra has gradually been embraced by her community, and became a popular and outgoing child. She said: "There were a few people who used to tease me and call me monkey face but they don't do it any more."
Picture: BRONEK KAMINSKI / BARCROFT MEDIA
"I'm very used to this condition. I can't feel the hair as it has always been like this. I don't feel anything. It does sometimes make it difficult to see when it gets long. I hope I will be cured one day."
Picture: BRONEK KAMINSKI / BARCROFT MEDIA
The bubbly little girl is determined not to let her condition prevent her from leading a normal life. She said: "I like to study maths so I can be good at it and teach it to younger children so they can do it too. I want to become a doctor so I can help patients when they get injured. I want to help people who get hurt and help cure people."
Picture: BRONEK KAMINSKI / BARCROFT MEDIA
Supatra's future didn't always look so promising. When she was first born she had to undergo two operations just to breathe. Her father Sammrueng, 38, said: "We found out Supatra's condition when she was born - we did not know before. For the first three months she was kept in an incubator to help her breathe. She then had an operation to expand her nostrils. She was in the hospital for a total of ten months. We were very worried about her." Supatra had another operation when she was two-years-old and can now breathe normally.
When Sammrueng and his wife Somphon, 38, brought Supatra home to live with them and their other daughter Sukanya, now 15, they faced more problems. "When neighbours first saw her they asked what kind of sin I had done. I was very worried about what she would be when she grew up because of other children teasing her," he said. But Supatra's sweet nature quickly won over people in her community.
Picture: BRONEK KAMINSKI / BARCROFT MEDIA
Doctors tried to remove the hair with laser treatment when she was two years old but despite numerous sessions it kept growing back as thickly as before. "A doctor is waiting for a new laser machine to arrive," Sammrueng said. "But if it's too dangerous maybe we won't do it. I still hope one day she will be cured. We will do anything we can if it will help her."
Picture: BRONEK KAMINSKI / BARCROFT MEDIA
Supatra with friends in the library at Ratchabophit school
Picture: BRONEK KAMINSKI / BARCROFT MEDIA
Supatra at a swimming pool
Supatra eats lunch at Ratchabophit school
Picture: BRONEK KAMINSKI / BARCROFT MEDIA
Supatra sits in a tuk tuk with her parents on their way to Suan Lum night market in Bangkok
Picture: BRONEK KAMINSKI / BARCROFT MEDIA
Supatra poses with her friends in Ratchabophit school
Picture: BRONEK KAMINSKI / BARCROFT MEDIA
Supatra plays with a hula hoop during PE at her school
Picture: BRONEK KAMINSKI / BARCROFT MEDIA