The Fugate Family

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The Fugate family of Troublesome Creek Kentucky has had a plethora of blue skinned relatives within the family tree. Blue skin isn’t a normal trait to have within a family, unless you are one of Papa Smurf’s children. The Fugates did not suffer from a rare case of cyanosis defeating death; it is much more complex than that. Locals thought that the blue skinned family had lung issues, this making them a blueish shade. The Fugates had a methemoglobin mutation in which their blood was less oxygenated than a normal person’s.
This methemoglobin mutation is a trait which started with Martin Fugate, a French orphan who was the first blue Fugate. During the time of the first set of blue Fugates, travel was more difficult than today’s methods. Since travel was so limited it wasn’t odd to marry the woman or girl who lived next door. The Fugates started out with one blue man who married a normal skinned woman. They had several children with the majority having blue skin. Marrying the girl next door caused the trait to expand. The girl next door may have also been your first or second cousin. Marrying and reproducing with a close cousin can generate many different problems. Being a Fugate meant you had the blue skinned trait on one side of …show more content…
Doctors searched for blue skinned individuals in which they could perform blood test on. After many blood tests on many individuals the doctors had come to a conclusion. The blue skinned people had an antidote and they hadn’t known it. The Fugates were told to take blue dye a couple of times to see what the outcome would be. Taking this blue dye reversed the color of the methemoglobin. This meant that the people who suffered from blue skin had a condition called methemoglobinemia. This condition the Fugates had did not cause them physical harm, they just got a few looks and stares in their
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