00:02 HANNAH: People do still think I'm like five.
Even little kids think I'm like five and I tell them that I'm 18 an they'll be like "Wow,
you're short for being 18."
00:16 COMM: Now nineteen-years-old Hannah Kritzeck
is just under a metre tall, she was born with primordial dwarfism, a rare genetic disorder
which only affects around 100 people worldwide.
00:27 HANNAH: Just because I'm small, I'm no different.
00:31 COMM: Hannah faces a shortened life expectancy
and lives every day like it's her last.
00:38 COMM: Despite her condition she's on a mission
to become a star with her enormous talents.
00:49 COMM: Hannah lives in Hugo Minnesota with
parents Jackie and Larry, and dogs Princess and Ella.
Despite being an adult she weighs just under 30lbs and wears children's size four shoes.
01:03 COMM: Hannah's passion is performing and she
attends dance classes with other students her age.
01:08 HANNAH: It makes you feel good like hip-hop
helps make me feel strong and balled calms me down.
01:18 HANNAH: I wanna like travel like dancing and
being in movies and ballet and all that.
01:27 COMM: Even though her body is the size of
a young child, she has no trouble keeping up.
01:33 ELLIE: Obviously there's a size difference
but that really doesn't stop her, she can definitely freestyle probably better than
a lot of the other dancers here.
01:45 KENNEDY: She's a triple threat she can sing,
dance and she can act.
MAGGIE: Yeah she can do all the stuff we do in dance like that, there's not much she can't
do like so.
She does it all.
01:55 COMM: And like most teenage girls, Hannah's
other interests include shopping for clothes and hanging out with her friends.
02:02 EMILY: She's the same as any teenager would
be because she loves dancing, she loves singing, she likes boys.
02:12 HEIDI: Shopping.
02:13 HANNAH: Today I didn't really find anything
for me to wear.
02:19 COMM: But while hanging out with her friends
helps the bubbly teen to feel more normal, there's no escaping the attention the unusual
condition brings.
02:28 HANNAH: People do still think I'm like five,
even little kids think I'm like five.
And I tell them that I'm 18 an they'll be like "Wow, you're short for being 18."
02:41 COMM: Primordial dwarfism is still not fully
understood by medical professionals, and few people with the condition live into their
twenties.
Because of her delicate situation Hannah and her mum Jackie have an extremely close bond.
02:57 JACKIE: I know I have a special bond with
her, she's kind of like my sidekick.
We just do everything together, the problems, the risks are gonna be always there.
And yes that does worry me a lot.
Hannah does have a dream to have her own family, to have a husband, to have a child.
I guess the delving on the life expectancy, that's the part that we don't like to talk
about it, do need to.
We're just gonna live each day like their isn't one tomorrow.
I mean that's all you can do.
Live to the fullest.
03:31 COMM: And Hannah understands the gravity of
her situation.
03:36 HANNHA: I do have to go to a lot go doctors
and have lots of problems, I have to check my blood pressure a lot.
You never know if something is going to go wrong.
03:46 COMM: But the seriousness of her condition
hasn't stopped her making plans for the future.
03:51 HANNAH: I'd like to have a boyfriend, he needs
to have blue eyes, brown hair, mohawk, an earring.
He has to be tall right now.
And cute.
04:07 COMM: Perhaps because of her uncertain future
Hannah relishes new challenges, and isn't afraid to put herself in the spotlight.
04:15 HANNAH: "I'm bulletproof."
04:20 HANNAH: I wanna be a singing coach.
I wanna like travel, like dancing, I'd like to be in movies with dance, like ballet.
04:30 COMM: And she has an inspirational message
for others wanting make ever moment count.
04:37 HANNAH: Don't give up your dream and keep
trying.