'90 Day Fiancé' Star 'Big Ed' Finally Talks About His Rare Condition And 'Physical Characteristics'
Ed Brown is speaking up about his rare congenital condition and overcoming the challenges that come with it.
Brown, best known as "Big Ed" from "90 Day Fiancé", spoke to Today about being diagnosed with Klippel-Feil syndrome. He revealed that he's been on the receiving end of stares even as a kid.
"Since I was a young child, young adults and kids especially, they would always stare at me. They just have always found me kind of interesting. And I think it was due to my physical characteristics," Brown told Today.
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According to the Cleveland Clinic, Klippel-Feil Syndrome (KFS) is a rare condition wherein two or more neck bones are fused together. KFS symptoms include a short neck, limited neck mobility, low hairline at the back of the head and nerve damage, among others.
KFS affects only one in 40,000 to 42,000 newborns in the world.
The condition left Brown with the nickname "No Neck Ed."
"They would call me 'neckless' and 'no neck' and 'no neck Ed' and everything under the sun, and it was very hurtful," he shared, remembering the bullying he endured as a kid.
However, the 59-year-old never let his condition "define who I was." Today, the bullying doesn't bother him anymore.
"You have to love who you are and you have to be able to laugh at yourself," he shared.
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His outlook also helped him gain confidence, turning to bodybuilding and weightlifting as a teen and ultimately becoming an entertainer.
He has also used his platform to raise awareness for KFS.
"It has actually helped me, I think, more than it has hurt me," "Big Ed" said.
"God made us all the way we are. I believe that in my heart and there's a reason why I look the way I do," he added.
"Big Ed" starred in several seasons and spinoffs of the series "90 Day Fiancé" from 2020 up to the current season of "90 Day Diaries."
