A woman in Scotland has lived with a gene mutation that prevents her from feeling any pain for 65 years and didn’t even realize.
Many of us have likely dreamt of having superpowers, especially with how popular superhero movies have become over the past decade. The ability to fly, turn invisible, or to heal ourselves at a moment’s notice. Sadly, we have to leave all that to the likes of Wolverine and Captain Marvel, unless you have a bank account the size of Batman’s.
However, a woman in Scotland recently discovered that she really does have a superpower of sorts. She doesn’t feel pain. Jo Cameron has an incredibly rare gene mutation (she is one of only two people in the world known to carry it) that allows her to not only feel no pain, but she also doesn’t tend to feel anxiety or fear either.
Perhaps the most shocking part of all this is Jo had no idea she was different from anybody else until the age of 65, reports BBC. The Scot had surgery on her hand and doctors couldn’t believe it when she didn’t require painkillers afterward. They looked through her medical history and discovered she had never asked for painkillers. That’s when the fascinated physicians referred her to specialists in England.
Before being diagnosed with this extremely rare condition, Jo just assumed that she was an incredibly healthy person. She didn’t even clock that something was up during childbirth, describing it as actually being “quite enjoyable.” We’re sure women around the world will love hearing that. The condition does have its pitfalls, though. Jo’s hip deteriorated over time, as it can do with age, and due to feeling no pain, she didn’t realize something was wrong until she literally couldn’t walk.
Since Jo’s is such a fascinating case, doctors are now wondering whether her genetic makeup could hold the key to the next step in pain relief for others. They also believe that her body heals more quickly than a regular person too. Plus, there is the very real possibility that there a lot of people out there living with this gene but are blissfully unaware of it, just like Jo was for 65 years.
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