Albert Agyapong
A pint-size Minnesota man has splurged more than $170,000 on two leg-lengthening surgeries in a bid to make himself more attractive to women.
Moses Gibson, 41, said he long struggled to get a girlfriend due to his 5-foot-5-inch frame, initially turning to medication and a “spiritual healer” to try to increase his height.
“I just didn’t feel good about myself,” Gibson told Kennedy News and Media, saying he was subjected to “heightism.”
“I was unhappy about it most of the time,” he candidly continued. “It was my self-confidence in general, and with the ladies. It affected my dating life. I used to put things in my shoes to gain a little bit of height, but it wasn’t very much.”
A desperate Gibson began taking pills he procured over the internet that promised to make him taller.
He also began talking with a spiritual healer, who told him he could increase his height if he properly put his mind to it.
But when the medication and magical thinking both failed to produce added inches on a height chart, Gibson realized a pricey and painful leg-lengthening surgery was his last resort.
The self-described “go-getter” saved $75,000 for the surgery over the course of three years, working as a software engineer by day and an Uber driver by night in order to make the money.
Gibson underwent the procedure in 2016, which added 3 inches to his height, taking him to 5-foot-8.
“After the first procedure, I was happy with it to some extent, but it was always in my mind that I wanted to do a second one to complete it.” the Minnesota native explained. “I’m a high achiever. I’ve got the money and I can finish the journey. “
In March of this year, Gibson forked up $98,000 more for a second surgery, which he hopes will add an additional 2 inches to his stature.
During the excruciating surgery, doctors broke Gibson’s tibia and fibula bones and screwed magnetic, limb-lengthening nails into them.
He now uses a height-lengthening device three times a day in order to pull the cut bone apart a millimeter at a time.
