Jaren Gamongan is 2 years old and lives in Apayao, a mountainous region of the Philippines.
He was born with a thick head of hair, black sideburns, and patches of hair on his face, neck, back, and arms.
His mother, Alma, was convinced it was her fault. During her pregnancy, she had uncontrollable cravings for wildcat, an exotic dish in the area where they live.
According to her account, she went looking for a black feline with friends from the village and ate it sautéed with herbs. When Jaren was born, she regretted it. The neighbors also fueled the idea that it was a curse.
Alma didn’t settle for that explanation: she took her son to qualified doctors.
The diagnosis was hypertrichosis, a condition described as affecting one in every billion people, with only between 50 and 100 cases reported since the Middle Ages.
And the answer that mattered most to her: according to the media outlets covering her story, she was told that what she ate had nothing to do with it.
Today there is no cure, but Jaren, the middle child among three siblings, is cheerful and playful. His mother only fears the day he has to go to school.