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Bayezid Hossain was born just outside Magura in south Bangladesh and with a very rare genetic disorder called progeria. This medical condition causes children to age far more rapidly than they otherwise would.
Although Hossain is only four years old, he already looks like he’s almost 80. His face is swollen, his eyes are hollow, his skin sags and his joints ache. On occasion, he has trouble urinating and already has broken teeth.
Because of his strange physical appearance, Hossain is given a wide berth by the other children in his village. His peers are all scared of him, and their parents would rather marvel at Hossain rather than offer support to his anxious parents.
Hossain’s mother, 18-year-old Tripti has nothing but love for her only son, who is also incredibly intelligent and self-aware for his age. But she grieves and cries constantly because she feels so helpless to her son’s situation.
“Bayesid only learned to walk aged three but he had a full set of teeth at three months old,” Tripti recalled. “His physical growth is completely abnormal but mentally, he has wonderful conversation, very aware and is very intuitive for his age.”
The doctors who helped Tripti give birth had never seen an infant like Hossain before. “They warned [Tripti and Lovelu, her husband] that there was nothing they could do,” Tripti recalled.
Lovelu explained that he had already taken his wife and son to many “hospitals, shrines, fakirs, shamans – whoever suggested whatever.” Nothing has improved Hossain’s condition.
Children born with progeria are only expected to live to around 13. They normally pass away from heart attacks or strokes by that point.
“…his situation remains the same and he’s probably getting even worse day by day,” Lovelu said. “My son isn’t a normal baby and it’s tragic for any parent to know that his child will not survive for long.”
See Hossain’s tragic story for yourself here:
