Ageing too fast
I’m ageing far too fast – but it won’t stop me smiling Claudia Amaral, 20
Glancing around the classroom at the other children, I knew that I looked different. For a start, they all had hair.
Some girls wore their long locks loose, others put it up in a ponytail using a pretty bobble.
But me? I wore a brightly coloured hat to cover up my bald head.
It was summer 2009, I was 10, and my strange appearance made me stand out at school.
I was shorter than my classmates, too, with a smaller build than them.
Yet I didn’t feel sorry for myself. Why would I? I had a great group of friends and, even though I looked different, no-one ever made me feel as if I didn’t fit in.
My parents Cristina, then 28, and Jose, 35, had made sure of that. They never treated me differently to
At 10, I was told the truth about my condition
my older brother, also called Jose, then 11.
When I was around 10, though, Mum decided I was old enough to hear the truth about my condition.
Why I needed extra doctors’ appointments, medication, and sometimes woke up in pain.
‘When you were born, you were perfect,’ Mum smiled, pulling me onto her knee.
She’d had an easy pregnancy, tests hadn’t picked up any problems. And I was born with a shock of dark curls. ‘Just like me,’ she smiled. But, at 4 months, my hair began to fall out. My skin became wrinkly and pigmented and, while
I’d guzzle milk, I was losing weight.
‘I knew that something was wrong before the doctors did,’ Mum said. Mother’s instinct. But, finally, when I was 1, a specialist told them I had
progeria. It’s a very rare genetic condition causing premature ageing – seven times faster than usual.
Mum had still been a teenager – it was such a shock for her and Dad.
The doctors had told them my symptoms would only get worse. I’d start to suffer from issues associated with age. Heart problems, bone degeneration.
And I wasn’t expected to live much beyond my 13th birthday.
‘I was scared,’
Mum admitted
– but it made them love me more fiercely.
Mum and Dad researched as much as they could about progeria. They vowed I’d live as normal a life as possible.
And so far, I had. Despite my symptoms, I’d started school. Made friends. My parents had asked teachers not to give me special treatment, which helped. I’d never been bullied. The other kids were actually kind, never left me out. Instead, I had more trouble with adults. They’d stare, mutter under their breath, some even asked my parents if I was a doll. My brother Jose was always first to defend me. I felt surrounded by love.
As I got older, though, my bones grew weaker. I’ve flown from our home in Viseu, Portugal, to the US, to have specialist treatment, even taken part in a drug trial.
And, incredibly, my 13th birthday came and went and my heart stayed strong and healthy.
I became determined to keep beating the odds.
But, in my late teens, I started suffering with my hip. As the bone deteriorated, the joint kept dislocating.
Thankfully, it didn’t cause me pain when it slipped out of place. But, in December 2016, I had a procedure to realign it.
Doctors told me to rest afterwards, but I was recovering so well, I went out dancing with friends!
I’m 20 now. That’s 140 in progeria years.
But when I look in the mirror, I don’t see an old lady, I just see me. Claudia.
The young woman who enjoys dancing with her mates, and the odd glass of wine.
A girl with hopes and dreams, like anyone else.
I’d love to travel the world some day.
But, mostly, I hope to make my parents proud, by refusing to let my condition hold me back. Just like they taught me. It’s not always easy, each day is a battle I’ve won.
Strangers online have called me a ‘warrior’, and a ‘force of nature’, but I’m just living my life to the fullest.
Because, by rights, I shouldn’t still be here.
So I’m not going to waste a single moment.