A Cuban man with polydactyly, a condition where a child is born with extra fingers and toes, says that his extra digits are a blessing.
Yoandri Hernandez Garrido, nicknamed "Twenty-Four" for the total number of his fingers and toes, says the condition has set him apart and enabled him to make a living, MSNBC reports. One traveler paid $10 for a picture with him, Hernandez said, a lot of money in a country with an average salary of just $20 a month.
"It's thanks to my 24 digits that I'm able to make a living, because I have no fixed job," Hernandez said, as reported by MSNBC.
Though polydactyly is relatively common, Hernandez's condition is different because his extra digits are perfectly formed.
A prominent Cuban orthopedist who is also one of Fidel Castro's doctors visited Hernandez when he was young and he declared that in all his years of travel he had never seen such a case of well-formed polydactyly, MSNBC reports.
"He was very impressed when he saw my fingers," said Hernandez, as reported by MSNBC.
Hernandez, 37, says he was never discriminated against for the extra digits. On the contrary, he says they have made him quite popular.
"Since I was young, I understood that it was a privilege to have 24 digits. Nobody has ever discriminated against me for that," he said, as reported by MSNBC. "On the contrary, people admire me and I am very proud. I have a million friends, I live well."
