ELLENSBURG, Wash. -- Imagine being 7 feet tall. Now imagine being 7 feet tall while you're in grade school.

In my business - sports journalism, here's the skinny: if you work enough, you'll meet a few big fellas.

But in the lengthy history of tall drinks of water, there has never been anyone quite like Brenden Adams.

"I don't know of anyone else like Brenden, and I don't think anyone else like Brenden has ever been reported before," said Dr. Melissa Parisi, a geneticist.

He is a medical mystery, a riddle and a miracle. And despite his outward and upward appearances, he is just 12 years old.

In the small town of Ellensburg, a boy who so desperately wants to blend in can't help but stand out. Doorways are constant obstacles, desks are ridiculously small -- every situation is a creative challenge for a boy who has simply outgrown his world.

Brenden says he wants people to know "how I'm just like everyone else."

And this latter-day Gulliver of 7 feet 3 inches surrounded by grade-school hobbits has actually pulled it off.

"He's an extremely good person, and he's normal," said one girl.

He's somehow become just another kid.

"I noticed he was tall but he didn't stick out that much. He was just really a fun kid to hang out with," said his friend, Tucker.

The truth is, of course, that Brenden is far from being just another kid. At 4 months old, he had all of his teeth. At 4 years old, he was the size of an 8 year old.

In 24 months, he grew 15 inches. And he just kept growing.

At 10, he was Michael Jordan's height. And when he turned 12, he could look Shaquille O'Neal right in the eye.

"You really can't explain it," said his mother, Debbie Adams. "And a part of it gives me a horrible feeling because we could tell something was different, something was obviously wrong.You go to the doctors and it's like, 'you know, we really don't know.'"

Brenden says his favorite thing in the world is riding his custom-made bike.

"I'm just saying no jumping over the curb," his mother said.

Why is mom being so cautious?

"Because she thinks I'm going to crash," Brenden said.

Mom knows that in addition to non-stop growing, Brenden has also survived a brain tumor, a bleeding disorder and a surgery to remove 12 extra teeth, not to mention the fact ever single joint in his body is just too big; they don't work quite right.

Brenden's bed was custom-made, as were the doorways in his family's new house.

"They're 8 feet tall," Brenden said.

Everything about him is unique and yet, if you look a little closer, inside the giant is a sweet, gentle little boy. When I met him, he wanted to show me some of his drawings.

"It took me like three hours, I just cut all this stuff off right here... I added all that but I drew the body first," he said, showing off his creation.

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Brenden's teeth, bones and even his organs grow at a phenomenal rate, which means he has to make frequent trips to Children's Hospital in Seattle to keep it all in check.

On a day he was having his spleen removed, I went along.

"A normal spleen is roughly about 12 centimeters in length, and his is roughly 35 centimeters in length," a doctor said.

At the hospital, he played his video game, showed off his six-pack abs, got a kiss for luck and headed into the operating room.

Most spleens are the size of a baseball. When they took Brenden's out, it was the size of a Thanksgiving turkey.

For years doctors couldn't figure out what made Brenden grow.

They found the answer in his blood cells. It's called a parycentric inversion of chromosome 12. Very early on, a chromosome broke off, flipped over and then reattached itself.

"And it just so happens that this particular chromosome difference disrupts a very important gene that helps regulate growth and development," Parisi said.

But the real trick was figuring out how to make him stop growing.

Dr. Gad Kletter of Swedish Hospital came up with the idea of bringing on puberty early. Testosterone injections were a shot in the dark, and so far they're working. As far as they can tell, Brenden has stopped growing.

"My growth plates show that I have, I guess," he said.

His dream is to be a mechanic. He and his step dad, Sam, are building a plus-sized off-road vehicle.

"I can't get my knees under the steering wheel," he said. It's still a work in progress.

Nobody knows what's in store for Brenden. The future is a mystery. He and his family have learned to live with that.

"We don't sit and think 'Brenden might not be here five years from now.' He may be here 70 years from now," Debbie said. "He's strong he's willing, so our whole thing - what Brenden has taught us - is, 'if I can ride my bicycle today, I'm going to get dirty and ride my bicycle. If I can't ride it tomorrow, I'll figure that out tomorrow.'"

Every day, Brenden Adams marches out into uncharted sea, the unknown. He is unique, but he is not alone. And he is not afraid.

He is just a sweet, larger-than-life, run-of-the-mill kid who everybody looks up to.

Brenden just turned 13. He's trying out of the basketball team for the first time.

Clothes and shoes are a struggle for Brenden and his family. Jeans have to be tailor-made. And because of the problems with his joints, orthopedic shoes have to be custom-made at $800 a pair, and insurance doesn't cover any of it. If you'd like to help, send an e-mail to problemsolvers@komo4news.com.