Hayley Okines
The Child who is Older than her Grandmother
Progeria
The
tragic story of Hayley Okines a six year old girl born with a rare ageing
condition known as Progeria.
Her body ages eight or ten times faster than those of other children and her life-expectancy will be tragically short. She is not expected to live beyond her early teens
The Child Who’s Older Than Her Grandmother is a channel five documentary two years on from the first documentary The Child Who’s Older Than Her Mother.
At their home in East Sussex, England her parents Mark and Kerry Okines watch helplessly as their daughter faces symptoms that include hair loss, arthritis and heart problems.
The medical profession know very little about the condition, a situation that is unlikely to change as only 40 people world-wide suffer from progeria
Despite this terrible disease, Hayley is a sunny natured child who is popular at school where she is in primary two. She is full of life, she doesn’t wallow in self-pity, she is just a happy child.
Although Progeria is extremely rare, An upcoming documentary tells the story of Ali Hussein Khan who is seven years old. The Khans are the only family in the world to have more than one child afflicted with this condition. Bisul and Rajia have had five children with Progeria, two of whom have already died.
We will bring you more of this story as it becomes available. The documentary is due to be screened on Monday 13th February on UK television.
Hayley has recorded a song with the Kids Choir 2000 and all proceeds from the sale of the single will go to the Progeria Research Foundation.
A short video clip can be viewed showing the making of the song. You can buy the single, "Voices of Tomorrow" from here and help raise both awareness and money.
