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The Foos family is not a family
you will easily forget, and it has
nothing to do with their unusual
last name. Joe, age 38 and Ginny,
age 39 have been married for 15
years and are the proud parents
of three outstanding children. They
are, in almost every way, the typical
American family; the majority of
their time is spent juggling work,
school, little league, household
chores and homework assignments.
But the one small detail that makes
the Fooses stand out in the crowd
is that the Foos are a family of
dwarfs, or Little People, as they
prefer to be called. And although
their short stature is probably
the first thing you’d notice
about them, it’s certainly
not the most important thing to
remember about them.
As this remarkable family of Little
People allows us into their intriguing
world, we will see that there is
much more to know about them than
their creative techniques for functioning
in an average sized world, and that
while they are, indeed, smaller
than most of us, there is nothing
small about their ambition, creativity,
and ability. If you disregard their
physical size, you will instantly
see that they are just like everyone
else.
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Just
as many couples are challenged by
health concerns when starting a
family, Joe and Ginny knew they
were up against some significant
odds. Since they are both dwarfs,
the chances that they would have
a dwarf child were 50%, and that
was ok. But the chances that they
would pass on a “double dose”
of the dwarf gene were 25% and that
was not ok, because a “double
dose” almost always proves
to be fatal for the infant. For
several terrifying days in the hospital,
Ginny and Joe feared this was the
case for their first son, Alex.
Now, at age 13, Alex has made it
through several surgeries to repair
his respiratory system and is very
much a typical 13 yr old boy. Their
daughter Dasha, who they adopted
from Russia, gave Joe and Ginny
some additional concerns. Learning
disabled and mildly autistic, Dasha,
age 14, made this already complicated
family considerably more complicated.
Completing the Foos family unit
is Ben, age 7, who, to the great
relief of his parents, was born
without health concerns.
As we follow the Foos family, we’ll
see that their routines and to-do
lists are very much like every other
upper middle class, over-scheduled
family’s, except that Ginny’s
exceptional organization skills
keep this group in astonishing order.
A part-time school teacher, Ginny’s
day begins early as she helps get
Joe, a computer sales rep, and the
three kids fed and out the door.
Both Alex and Dasha attend the same
Middle School where Ginny often
teaches, but Dasha sees a special
education teacher who has a detailed
plan for developing her language
and social skills. The children
have average sized friends, participate
in average sized activities, and
are quite comfortable finding their
place in an average sized world.
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Extremely
active in the San Francisco Little
People community, both Joe and Ginny
do all they can to educate anyone
and everyone on what it means to
be a Little Person. At heights of
4’2” and 3’9”,
Joe and Ginny have devoted their
lives to destroying the myths and
misconceptions about their small
stature, and often must deal with
some rather “small-minded”
people. While Ginny says that “it
would be nice not to have to educate
people every single day” on
why she’s short, how she reaches
things, where she buys her clothes,
she realizes the importance of answering
these questions. What they want
everyone to know most of all, is
that they are just like everyone
else.
The Foos Family, will not only be
a Day in the Life of this family
of Little People, it will introduce
viewers to a family that faces challenges
head-on, challenges that any average-sized
family would find difficult to manage.
We’ll witness their daily
struggle to fit into a world that
isn’t built to fit them, and
their amazing resolve to make their
lives as normal as possible. Whatever
preconceived notions that exist
about dwarfs will be quickly forgotten
upon meeting the Foos. Because in
the case of the Foos, it’s
not their first impression they’re
concerned with, it’s their
lasting impression.
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