Joseph Merrick, aka The Elephant Man, was born on August 5, 1862 in Leicester, England, and he was born a completely healthy child with absolutely no indication that anything was, or would be wrong. There are differing accounts of exactly when Joseph’s disfigurements started to appear, but general consensus is that they didn’t become severe until he was about 5 years old. However he was affected by the disease before his fifth birthday. Accounts state that as early as 21 months, he began developing a swelling of his lips, followed by a bony lump on his forehead, which later grew, of course, to roughly resemble an elephant’s trunk.
Merrick’s condition gradually deteriorated during his final years, which were spent at London Hospital. He required a great deal of care from the nursing staff and spent much of his time in bed. His facial deformities continued to grow and his head became more and more dangerously enlarged. He died on April 11th 1890, at the age of 27. Merrick had to sleep sitting up with his head resting on his knees because of the size of his skull. It’s believed that he died just trying to lay down and go to sleep like everyone else. Treves, who performed the autopsy concluded that Merrick had died of a dislocated neck.
To this day, Merrick’s exact medical condition remains unknown.
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