Hayley Okines: Teenager Suffering from Progeria Who’s Actually 105:

Hayley Okines Suffers From Progeria, A Rare Disease Which Makes Her Body Age 8 Times Faster.

We also created a list with other kids suffering from Progeria.

Take a look at this girl. Can you believe she’s just 14 years old, and not a 96-year-old senior citizen? Hayley Okines suffers from an extremely rare condition known as Progeria, which causes her body to age eight times faster than a normal person. What’s even more amazing about this little girl is the fact that she has already surpassed her life expectancy.
Normally, those who suffer of Progeria don’t survive passed the age of 13 (when their body’s biological age is much higher). This rare disease affects one in eight million people and it is not passed down from one generation to another.

This amazing little girl was born on December 3rd, 1997, and by the time she was 21 months old, doctors had already diagnosed her with this weird disease which affects the normal growth of her organism. When doctors announced the family that their new baby girl wouldn’t live passed he age of 13, they were devastated, especially her mother, Kerry Okines, who was shattered with disbelief.

 

Luckily, they didn’t lose faith, and took their child to a lot of experts, who managed to identify the gene that mutated, and included Hayley in a clinical trial of a drug which has been proven to reverse an abnormality in progeria cells during their experiments.

Now look at this amazing little girl, she’s already 14 years old and despite her arthritis and other old age diseases, Hayley acts completely normal, hanging out with her friends and doing day-to-day activity. Actually, the little girl even wrote a book about her life which she titled “Old Before My Time”, in which she candidly speaks about the struggles of aging rapidly, and the impact of her disease on the family.

“I’m not worried about dying. They said the Titanic wouldn’t sink but it did, so that proves experts can be wrong and I want to prove the doctors wrong. Deep inside, I am no different from anyone.”

Amazingly, this inspirational girl has beaten all of the odds as she recently celebrated her 105-Year-Old Birthday. Cause, according to calculations, Hayley’s body is that of a 105-Year-Old person, despite the fact that she just turned 14.

But what is Progeria?

Progeria is also known as Hutchinson Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS), and it is caused by a mutant protein in the body called progerin. The alteration of this protein leads to premature aging, at a speed 8 to 10 times faster than normal. By the time the baby is 18 to 24 months old, the first signs appear, and the consist of hair loss, lack of growth, aged-looking skin and other signs which make the baby look like an elderly person.

So far, there is no cure for this fatal disease, but scientists have discovered effective treatments which may prolong the life of the patients with progeria.

Luckily for Hayley, she was able to benefit from such a treatment and she is now 14 year old, taking every day step by step.

Have a look below to see a few videos of Hayley Okines, and the amazing child who is older than her mother.

And below is a video with other children suffering from Progeria and Hayley talking about their illness.