Random Facts And Stories About The 'Blue Fugates' (11 items)

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  (#3) Their Condition Partially Arose From Inbreeding

  Martin Fugate and his bride, Elizabeth Smith, both carried the same recessive gene that causes methemoglobinemia. It wouldn't have affected future generations of Fugates - if they hadn't married within the family, that is. The Fugates lived in an isolated area, which limited their options. Zachariah Fugate, one of the first known Blue Fugates, married his aunt; one of their sons married a close cousin. In turn, one of their children married another cousin.

  It makes for a confusing family tree marked with plenty of blue individuals. As one of the family members quipped, "I'm kin to myself."
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  (#4) Luna Fugate Was The Bluest Blue Fugate

  At the end of the 19th century, a man named John Stacy attended church one Sunday in eastern Kentucky. He spotted a young woman, and apparently liked what he saw. The two courted, got married, and had 13 children. The woman was Luna Fugate, and according to lore, she was bluest Blue Fugate of them all.

  According to a local nurse, "The bluest Fugates I ever saw was Luna and her kin. Luna was bluish all over. Her lips were as dark as a bruise. She was as blue a woman as I ever saw."

  Interestingly enough, Stacy himself refused to say whether his beloved wife was blue.

   
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  (#8) The Last Known Blue Fugate Was Born In 1975

  The Fugates continued to have large families over the years, with some children still born in varying shades of blue. Coal mining and the railroads brought new people to Kentucky, however, and the Fugates began marrying outside of their family. Eventually, the recessive gene receded.

  The last known Blue Fugate was born in 1975. Benjy Stacy looked "almost purple" at birth, alarming his doctors. But his grandmother shared the story of her family's unusual lineage, and the medical staff concluded he had simply inherited the Fugates' rare condition. The blue faded from Stacy's skin over the next few weeks, though his lips and nails continued to turn purple when he got cold or angry.

  Could more Blue Fugates be born in the future? The decline of inbreeding makes it less likely that the recessive gene causing the condition would crop up, though it still exists in many. There's a chance that future generations of the Fugates could have blue skin, but the likelihood is very small.
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  (#7) They Were Treated With Blue Dye

  In the early 1960s, the case of the Blue Fugates was brought to the attention of Dr. Madison Cawein, a hematologist at a University of Kentucky medical clinic. He began "tromping around the hills looking for blue people," eager to learn more about the Fugates. He ran into a nurse named Ruth Pendergrass, who had firsthand experience with the blue people. She joined him in his hunt, and eventually they met two of the Fugates.

  After interviewing the Fugates, Cawein concluded their blood must be missing a crucial enzyme. To trigger the blood's natural processes, the doctor decided to inject the affected family members with methylene blue, a dye. 

  The cosmetic results were nearly instant. Talking about the experience years later, Cawein said the treated family members were thrilled to see the blue fade from their skin: "For the first time in their lives, they were pink." The solution really was that easy. The effects of the dye were temporary, but Cawein supplied the Fugates with methylene blue tablets to take every day.
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  (#9) The Fugates Still Live Very Private Lives

  Although ABC news published a story on the blue Fugates in 2012 and tried to follow up with the surviving family members, they reported being unable to reach anyone. At least one Fugate descendant still lives in the Appalachia area, and various other families with the condition are scattered throughout the region, but the gene pool has significantly dispersed.

  "You almost never see a patient with [methemoglobinemia]," admits a hematologist from the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Ayalew Tefferi.
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  (#6) They Lived Long, Healthy Lives

  Methemoglobinemia can cause developmental delay and seizures, but despite the intense appearance of their blue skin and purple lips, none of the Fugates suffered poor health or lived in pain. The condition had only a cosmetic effect, though the family endured psychological pain from their outsider status.

  Many of the family lived to a ripe old age, with Luna Stacy bearing 13 children before passing at 84.

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