Meet Ali Hussain....He is Only 14yrs Old.
This 14-year-old boy has been left with the body
of a 110-year-old in India because he has a rare
disease which makes him age eight times faster
than normal.
Ali Hussain has seen five of his siblings- two of
his brothers and three of his sisters, die from the
same condition called Progeria which is known to
affect just 80 people worldwide...PLEASE I
ADVISE VIEWING/READING DISCRETION FROM
THIS POINT ON.
Sufferers are not expected to live much beyond
the age of 14.
Life was made unbearable for him and his late
siblings because of their disease, they were
mocked in school and called names like ‘big-eyed
boy’ and ‘Patlu’ meaning skinny.
Eventually they all stopped going to school.
But despite the grim prognosis Ali has refused to
give up hope. Ali says:
‘I very much want to live and I hope there is
medicine for my condition out there. I’m not
scared of death but my parents have suffered a
lot. I’d love to live much longer for them. I don’t
want to burden them with any more pain..
We had each other (his siblings) but that was it.
We had no life. When we did go to school we
were pushed and shoved, called names, kids tried
to harm us. We can’t do much physically either;
our lungs are so small we get breathless easily.
I would love to be a normal person who can
play, go to school, do some sports, take some
risks. Sometimes I get depressed but most of the
time I make the most of the life I have.’
Ali is now the family’s only surviving Progeria
sufferer.
His parents Nabi Hussain Khan, 50, and Razia, 46,
are first cousins and were the product of an
arranged marriage 32 years ago.