It was a moment for her and Turkish Airlines as the world’s tallest woman took her maiden flight in September with the help of the Turkish flag bearer.
Rumesa Gelgi, who holds the Guinness Book of Records for her height of 2.15 meters (about 7 feet), climbed San Francisco. (SFO) – Boeing 777-300ER bound She boarded the plane in a wheelchair before lying on a stretcher for the 13-hour flight.
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Guinness World Records
To make the journey possible, Turkish Airlines came forward and converted 6-seaters on the plane into stretchers for sleeping throughout the flight to Gelgi.
With the necessary seating adjustment, Rumisa Gelgi finally boarded a plane with her mother for the first time in her life at Istanbul International Airport (IST). Although it was not an easy task to coordinate, the tallest woman in the world finally took her first trip by plane.
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Rumisa Gelgi with her mother at Istanbul Airport, Turkey. Photo: AA.
The 24-year-old moved to San Francisco to pursue her career interests in software development, but she also coordinates with Guinness World Records to promote various events.
Gelgi had to travel on a stretcher because of Weaver syndrome, a rare genetic disorder characterized by rapid bone growth. Even without treatment, people with this condition can live healthy lives. She usually gets around in a wheelchair but sometimes walks short distances.
She said she was excited to fly for the first time at Istanbul Airport and that the flight was important for patients like her who needed a stretcher.
“This is my first flight and my first foreign travel. But I believe this experience is a first for many people, not just for me. Because as you know, the option of traveling as a stretcher passenger is usually reserved. Patients who are being transferred from one intensive care unit to another.”
“It is an alternative for patients who are referred from one hospital to another and need an ambulance. However, because I cannot sit for long due to my scoliosis or spinal curvature disorder, I have to travel on a stretcher. ” .
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Rumeysa Gelgi, photo: AA.
Gelgi lives in Karabuk, Turkey, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) north of Ankara. She wants to use her world record title to advocate and raise awareness about both Weaver syndrome and scoliosis.
If one checks the records, the tallest woman on record is Zheng Xinlian of Hunan Province, China, who was 246.3 cm (8 ft, 1 in) at the time of her death in February 1982.
Incidentally, the tallest man in the world — measured at 2.51 meters (8 feet 2.8 inches) — is Sultan Kosen, also living in Turkey.
