Real Smurfs! :) The Blue-Skinned Fugate Family Living in Kentucky

Fugate family

In the 1800s, Martin Fugate, a French orphan at the beginning, met a woman named Elizabeth Smith. The couple, who got married, settled in a town in the mountains of Kentucky together. Of course, they did not know that they would leave an important mark on the scientific world. Both Martin and Elizabeth carried the rare, recessive methemoglobinemia gene. When they had children, this recessive gene affected their children's appearance. The baby was born with a blue-tinged skin color. Although this was a genetic defect, it was not fatal. In some people, the presence of this gene resulted in seizures and developmental disorders, while in the Fugate family it only caused skin color changes. This disorder, which occurs when the blood carries less oxygen than normal; causes hands, feet, and lips to appear purplish.

Consanguineous marriage also perpetuated this genetic mutation.

Martin and Elizabeth had seven children, and at least four of them had the disease. If intermarriage could be prevented, future generations would not be affected by this mutation. However, the area where the Fugate family lived was not very open to the outside world. Therefore, domestic marriages became normalized. The disease continued to be passed on to future generations with each marriage.

In the early 20th century, a blue-skinned member of the family went to the hospital for a blood test. That's when other people started hearing about the Fugate family. The nurse who took care of a blue-skinned person was shocked. Comb, on the other hand, tried to calm the nurse by saying that there were many blue-skinned individuals in his family.

Madison Cawein III

After Comb met the nurse, the story of blue-skinned people began to spread rapidly. Hearing this, the famous hematologist Dr. Madison Cawein III set out to personally control the story. She met a nurse during the trip and the two joined hands and began searching for the blue people.

By the middle of the 20th century, people began to become aware of the negative effects of consanguineous marriage. As such, the Fugate family was ostracized by the surrounding families. This made them even more withdrawn. Because Dr. When Cawein found them, he worked hard to gain their trust.

Research and treatment

Dr. Cawein did a wide variety of blood tests and found that a very important enzyme was missing. Various treatments and drugs were administered to trigger the secretion of this missing enzyme. Interestingly, all this worked and for a short time the Fugate family regained a normal complexion. This was quite an exciting development for them.

The last blue-skinned Fugate

Over time, mining increased in the area where the Fugate family lived. Transport networks also expanded rapidly. In this way, the Fugate family began to meet and marry people outside the household. Thus, this genetic abnormality slowly began to recede. In 1975, Benjamin Stacy, the last blue-skinned member of the family, was born. Benjamin's grandmother was one of the bluest members of the Fugate family. After a few weeks, Benjamin's complexion returned to normal. Apparently the gene is not fully active! Of course, he still turns blue when he's angry and cold.