A disease that won’t let you live past the age of 13?! One woman is a medical marvel for living with “Benjamin button” syndrome long past doctors thought she would.
This woman outlived the doctors’ predictions about those who have the rare Benjamin Button syndrome
Fourty-six-year-old Tiffany Wedekind brought attention to the illness that causes the majority of people who suffer progeria to die before turning 13.
She shares the reason she’s still alive to this day!
Tiffany has progeria, a rare genetic illness that causes accelerated aging and typically strikes when a person is still a child.
Tiffany Wedekind is an artist from Columbus, Ohio.
The illness runs in the family. In fact, Tiffany is the second-oldest progeria patient in the world. First in line is her mother.
At first, Tiffany didn’t know what was wrong…
Thinking it was pure genetic inheritance from her petite mom, Tiffany didn’t question any of the signs.
Tiffany didn’t notice any significant changes as a child
Then she began losing her hair and teeth in her early 20s, even though she was smaller than her friends and had a higher-pitched voice.
But when she started getting age-related diseases
She went to the doctor and had a DNA sample taken, which verified that she has progeria, also known as Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) or ‘Benjamin Button’ disease.
But unlike the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, who aged backwards, Tiffany’s age is accelerated to eight times that of the average individual.
It’s a disease that has no cure…
According to WebMD, A mutation in the LMNA gene causes progeria. Most kids with progeria don’t live past age 13.
“The disease affects people of all sexes and races equally. About one in every four million babies are born with it worldwide.
“A single mistake in a certain gene causes it to make an abnormal protein. When cells use this protein, called progerin, they break down more easily. This leads kids with progeria to age quickly.”
Currently, there is no cure for progeria, however treatments can help relieve or delay some of the disease’s symptoms.
The disease runs in the family
Besides Tiffany and her mother, her brother Chad also suffered the ‘Benjamin Button’ disease.
In a podcast with Mount Sinai, Tiffany explained the features that indicated her condition: “Well, growing up, a beaked nose, a pointy nose, bald. You know, they typically don’t get hair. So, I was developing hair. I was, but my nose didn’t start to change.”
