Following the season premiere of 19 Kids and Counting tonight, TLC is introducing viewers to another little couple, Maryland-based Dan and Michelle Hamill — as well as their twin 3-year-old daughters and 6-year-old son.
“What’s unique about our family is that we are all small, and we all have the most common form of dwarfism, which is achondroplasia,” 40-year-old Michelle, who measures 4 ft. tall, said in a video preview. “Achondroplasia makes our arms legs shorter, but our torso is the same size as an average size person.”
The Hamill family before TLC.
According to WebMD, achondroplasia occurs in about one out of 26,000 to 40,000 babies. It is not to be confused with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, the rarer form of dwarfism that affects The Little Couple‘s Bill Klein and Jennifer Arnold.
Although the condition is genetic, Our Little Family‘s Michelle said it’s unusual that both twins, Cate and Cece, inherited it — as did their older son, Jack.
“Usually when two little people have twins, one’s little, and one’s average. But we were lucky enough that both of them are little,” she said. “I’m just happy I’m little, my kids are little, I’m very proud to be a little person. We’re all little together.”
Even though the Hamills experience some challenges associated with being little people, especially as they rent a house intended for average-sized folks, they keep positive attitudes.
“Dan and Michelle use their own life experiences to help their kids to overcome physical obstacles and learn to adapt to the world around them. In fact, Dan works in the construction field and he drives a giant pick-up truck,” TLC said of the parents, who both grew up as the only little people in their families. “Neither Dan nor Michelle is afraid to face any challenge thrown their way, and they are raising their kids to feel the same!”
Dan, 48, told Channel Guide Magazine he hopes viewers will be able to take something positive away from the show.
“We want to tell the story that we’re little, but we don’t want that to be the only story that we tell,” said Dan, who measures a “massive” 4′ 3″. “We want people to see how our lives are different from theirs because we’re little and things we run into, but we also want people to see that our lives are really close to theirs — probably closer that they think.”
Our Little Family premieres on TLC tonight at 10/9c.
