THE LITTLE ‘OLD MAN’

Bayezid is four years old but suffers from a rare disease that ages him at eight times the normal rate

Compiled by CHARLEA SIEBERHAGEN HE eyes that stare back at the camera look as if they’ve seen a lifetime – but the person they belong to is only four years old. Bayezid Hossain from the Magura district in southern Bangladesh has the face of an old man: wrinkles, sagging skin, swollen jowls, large ears and hollow eyes.

He suffers from the rare disease progeria, a condition that ages the body at eight times the normal rate. The illness is said to have inspired writer F Scott Fitzgerald’s short story The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, which was turned into a movie starring Brad Pitt in 2008.

Bayezid may have been dubbed the real-life Benjamin Button – but unlike the fictional character who’s born an old man and ages backwards, Bayezid won’t get younger as time goes by.

Not only does he have progeria but he also suffers from cutis laxa, a disease that affects the body’s connective tissue, causing the skin to hang loose, which exaggerates the aged appearance.

Doctors believe the little boy won’t live beyond his teens.

Bayezid’s mom, Tripti Khatun, was only 14 when he was born in a government hospital in 2012. His appearance stunned medical staff who didn’t know how to treat him.

“It was terrifying to see him when he was born,” Tripti says. “He was just flesh and bones. He looked like an alien and it was heartbreaking for me.

“Doctors had no idea what to do; they said they had never seen such a baby. They warned us there was nothing they could do.”

Tripti and her husband, Lovelu Hossain, are first cousins and married when she was just 13. In rural parts of Bangladesh and elsewhere in southern Asia it’s common practice for first cousins to wed.

Life had always been a struggle for the young couple – Lovelu (22) is a labourer who earns the equivalent of about R926 a month – and things became even harder when they brought their newborn son home to their village.

Neighbours lined up outside the family home to gawk at him, eyeing the baby with curiosity and suspicion and gossiping about the teenage couple’s capacity to care for a special-needs child.

Yet as the months went by tiny Bayezid wriggled his way into the community’s hearts and they became fond of the little boy they affectionately dubbed the “old man”.

But his reality is harsh and his challenges constant. When he was three months old he had a full set of teeth – but they’re brittle and break easily. He’s always been weak and began walking

‘It’s tragic for any parent to know her child won’t survive for long’