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Zara Hartshorn is thirteen years old — but you wouldn’t think twice about carding her for cigarettes, alcohol or car rentals.
The young girl suffers from what’s known as lipodystrophy. The degenerative disease affects her body’s tissue and prevents her from retaining the youthful visage that she’s supposed to have at age thirteen. In short, she outwardly appears to be more forty-three than thirteen.
I was helping my parents pack their house earlier this morning and clean the remainder while Good Morning Americaplayed on the television. I heard the brief outline of the girl’s issue and after thirty seconds, the segment had my rapt attention.
In the interview, Zara, who is a resident of Britain, spoke of her physical ailments stating that she had to be removed from school due to bullying. She claims that the children mockingly called her ‘monkey’ and ‘granny.’ She also stated that she had previously asked for the child rate on the bus and was laughed at. On her ongoing disfigurement, Zara states:
“I see saggy skin … It’s like I’m a young girl trapped in an old woman’s body.”
Zara is not the only one in her family to be afflicted by the disease; both her mother and two siblings also suffer the symptoms of lipodystrophy. At this point in time, there is no cure for the disease, which can be brought upon by various means. Thirteen year-old Zara’s only option at this point is to undergo youth-rejuvenating plastic surgeries, which will more than likely have to continue throughout her entire life.
Lipodystrophy can be hereditary or acquired; prevalent forms of acquired lipodystrophy can occur as a side effect of HIV/AIDS (which is not the case for this particular girl) and other hormonal imbalances are also said to play a part in the ongoing deterioration caused by the disease. Another theory supported by scientists is a lack of insulin production in the body, which is also said to cause such ailments.
There is no known cure for this disorder and there are further complications that can come in tow with this disease such as liver problems, heart issues and various other systemic failure.
My heart goes out to this young girl who will never really know what it is to be young.
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That’s really very sad. Poor girl!
It reminds me of that movie, “Jack”, with Robin Williams.
Why did the mother have children when she knew that she had this hereditary condition? Terrible.
Based on the limited information in the article, I think the disorder is only one of many problems these poor kids have to deal with – three kids with three uninvolved fathers, all on public assistance? These stories make me very frustrated with humanity.
That was actually my thought as well. I can understand having one child, but once that child started showing the symptoms of this I would stop.
I think that line of thinking is dangerous. Would you tell a diabetic not to have children, or someone with HIV? I believe that the a women should have the right to choose without judgment.
I would absolutely tell someone with HIV or HEP C or any other disease they could pass on with any good likelyhood, that they should re-consider birthing a child through their diseased loins. That’s really selfish to throw caution to the wind and pass on a disease to a child who would likely die from that disease. Have a surrogate carry the child, adopt or foster children if you like kids that much! When the rumors of Pam Anderson being pregnant were popping up I was DISGUSTED that she would put a child at risk of getting her HEP C. Especially since she already has children.
If the girl in question were born to a mother who KNEW or had been informed of her gentetic conditon being passed on and she decided to have children anyways, I do think that’s irresponsible and selfish. I’m not a proponent of Eugenics, don’t get me wrong. But just because someone can genetically procreate, doesn’t mean they should.
That’s why you can’t marry a sibling or first cousin- the rate of birth defects and issues from inbreeding are genetic in nature.
Hopefully this girl will be able to have a fullfilling life and find happiness. Her life will not have been for nothing. For a disorder like she has, maybe the plastic surgery would be covered by insurance…
You have a valid argument, however once you start thinking in this pattern the ethics dissolve and soon enough it steamrolls out of control and you start considering sterilization and inevitably, eugenics. Education is freedom, so providing a mother with all the facts about her own disease and her baby is all that should be done. The mother would have an extremely difficult decision to make, and judgment from others can’t hep.
that’s “can’t help”.
I have to agree that I would (as a health professional only) discourage a woman from having a child if the mother were HIV positive.
However, Diabetes? Not so much. There are many diabetic moms out there who with careful attention to their diet and monitoring by their obstetrician who have delivered perfectly healthy babies.
Hepatitis C? Barely an issue there, either. The chance of a child contracting Hepatitis C from the Mom is less than 5% – the main concern being DURING birth. Placental transmission is believed to be extremely rare – if it happens at all. Again, a monitored pregnancy and competent MD will do the trick.
Please rethink your “diseased loins” comment. It is a very unkind thing to say, and ill-informed at that. Saying something like this only invites ridicule and further distaste towards people who 99.999% of the time are hardly any more responsible for getting their disease than you are your next cold.
Bah.
Senility strikes again :(
I am NOT a health professional, and I intended to make that clear above.
I agree, Jorge. I’d love an edit button!
If I had a blood borne communicable disease, I would not want a infant to pass through my own diseased loins. I’ll stick with that description because I feel strongly about giving my babies the best start in life. I would never do anything to hinder them from the very begining. I’d rather have no children than live with knowing I was responsible for their unhappiness and untimely death. This is my opinion and how I feel about the subject.
Actually, based on her ‘three kids by three men and none of them still around’, as well as the lack of income, I don’t think this woman sat down and made a difficult decision.
I think this woman went out and avoided the ‘let’s use a condom’ decision.
Actually, it is about all I expected from you.
I’m often quite surprised by the harsh judgements on women on this site. “Diseased loins”? And the stereotypical shaming of the mother b/c of the kids having different fathers – I guess this woman didn’t “bowl a strike on her first time out” huh? And being that SHE has the disease and still is wanting to live her life and enjoy children, perhaps she’d be the best one to judge what is a proper quality of life in that context?? Furthermore, I hope since you would only give your baby the best chances as ostensibly, you’re a “perfect” mother with presumably undiseased loins, you’ll be undergoing a battery of genetic tests beforehand right? In case of recessive genes? And you’ll require the same of your partner? I really hope that after your hard work, diligence and supreme genetics your child turns out as perfect as you.
Yes, I think this is an unfortunate situation. i think that whenever possible, people should give children a stable, two-parent home in which to grow up. Call me old-fashioned.
I think that people should do their best to avoid getting pregnant when they are not in such a situation to raise the kids. I think people should be financially responsible for their children, and should not have children they cannot afford to provide for.
I think that when I hear a woman has three children with three men and none are in the picture, and society’s paying for them, there’s a good chance it did not come out of a careful reasoned consideration.
In the real world, birth control fails. Some people don’t believe in abortion.
If you consider that every single sexual encounter could result in pregnancy, but only three times in a lifetime you get pregnant, that’s still a pretty successful rate of not getting pregnant.
Where did the article say that “society” is paying for the children?
Well, I come from Canada and we’re not as hung up on “society paying”, as you put it. I think you just really sound very judgemental and holier-than-thou… I hope life doesn’t present you with the kind of situations that might change that life view.
It’s not to make anyone feel I presume to be a “perfect” parent. It is my duty to be the best parent I can be, and that involves considering whether or not I am in a position to bring a child into the world.
Yes, birth control works. I know we all know someone who says they were on BC and it “didn’t work” but let’s be honest. If they were taking it every day, like the packaging says, “when taken properly, 99.9% effective”… there would be a whole lot less “un-planned” or unwanted or unexpected children in this world. I myself am the product of an unplanned pregnancy by a teenager no less. I didn’t have a great life, but I am thankfull to have a life and a brain I can use to give my own family a better life.
And so with no known genetic illnesses, the financial means to support, and a strong marriage- here I am almost the mother of 2 children. If that makes me holier-than-thou because I don’t think people should go forth and multipy mindlessly, than fine. My kids won’t be perfect, but they will contribute to society and have a family who loves and supports them.
Jess, you’re taking everything from your point of view ONLY.
You cannot be a citizen of the world and have such a narrow view.
Your take on birth control, as an example. It is fairly obvious from your remarks that you are speaking of oral contraceptives. It is logical to assume that you used The Pill as your form of contraception.
People use withdrawal, condoms, foam, vaginal suppositories,the sponge, depo provera, and sterilization – and probably a few more that I don’t know about. And guess what? Every method listed can fail. I personally know of 2 women who became pregnant after a tubal ligation!
Were you aware that until 1965, birth control was not even legal in the United States? Many of us were unplanned, Jess.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to do everything right. It is commendable. But you need to recognize that not everyone has the ability or resources (whether financial, physical or mental) that you may.
If you already have a child, you know the indescribable joy that you feel when you hold your baby. It is pretty harsh to say that another woman should be denied this.
If I had a disease that took this much of a toll on me, I would much rather adopt so I could still experience the joy of having children without making them suffer the way that I had. Sure, if I chose not to give birth I would be opting out of the likely most physically painful moments of my life (bummer, huh) and I could give a lonely child something they wouldn’t have otherwise.
Alzaetia: “Where did the article say that “society” is paying for the children?”
“…but that option is likely too costly for a family that lives on public assistance.”
If the terms are used differently across the ocean, maybe I’ve made a mistake. I did note that this is how it seems – I am uncertain from just this article. But I got the idea that society is paying for the children from the article stating that the family lives on public assistance.
rvh: “Well, I come from Canada and we’re not as hung up on “society paying”, as you put it. I think you just really sound very judgemental and holier-than-thou…”
I know Jess already responded assuming you were talking to her, but based on the society comment, I assumed this was for me.
It’s real funny you should say that, actually. You see, I come from Canada too. Still there, actually. And ‘we’ *are* hung up on society paying. Assuming that by ‘hung up’ you mean ‘unimpressed by paying for other people’s poor choices’.
So you might want to rethink that ‘we’. It seems that you and I, as individual Canadians, have different opinions.
I’m not judging myself against this woman or the poor kids or anyone. I made a simple statement that this situation does not seem to be the result of a careful decision on the mother’s part. (In response to the suggestion that each person would have to weight the risks for themselves and decide whether it was worth potentially passing it on to her kids) Are you really going to argue with that?
It was an unemotional statement on the apparent facts. While you may extrapolate to judgement of the situation, that was not actually in the comment, and not really relevant. Holier-than-thou if you want – I’m just talking straight.
If the Benjamin Button thing was basically un-aging, wouldn’t the reverse be aging?
The hyperspeed then being the only relevant part.
That does seem rough.
So, then it WOULD be correct, right? ‘Cause even though she’s not ACTUALLY aging, her skin and tissue are, no?
So nitpicky.
Talk about irrelevance.
Entertaining that you deign to nitpick about my nitpickiness.
[...] Does Lindsay Lohan Suffer From This Disease? – Zelda Lily [...]
[...] Thirteen Year-Old Girl Suffers Reverse 'Benjamin Button' Syndrome …The young girl suffers from what’s known as lipodystrophy. The degenerative disease affects her body’s tissue and prevents her from retaining the youthful visage that she’s supposed to have at age thirteen. … Read more [...]
[...] the real life female version of Benjamin [...]
That poor girl and nobody believes her. It’s a shame don’t blame the mother her children were not a regret!! Alice you need to mind your own bussiness!!!! you dont have so you dont know how it feels. okay… so next time keep your trampy comments to your own……….. self. kay kay itchy mutha sucker. and if you got a problem with my opinion trick we can handle this online i dont have time for your your peanut butter jelly wanna be jessica simpson looking … to yo ………. self boo
I think you all need to get lives and re-think your attitude to other peoples. You all use big words in an attept to justify your apathetic and morally unbalanced opinions.
You are no different from the gossip mongering low-lifes obsessing over ‘real-life’ stories in magazines and talk shows. Similar opinions ar harboured in those of the culturally devoid, mentally masturbating over the prospect of celebrity life-styles in a vain attempt to claw some sort of concept of a higher existence rather than wallow in your own dismal excrement that passes for reality these days.
Pathetic bunch
Ah, nothing slaps me into reality more than a disconnecting comment directed at a mass of people which uses poop as a metaphor for life.
Hey! We “peoples” shouldn’t “attept” to share our own opinions. Listen to Dave!
;)
“You all use big words in an attept to justify your apathetic and morally unbalanced opinions.”
Right back at you.
Using big words is fine if you know what they mean and know how to use them. It also helps if you’re using a big word because it’s the best word rather than because you want to try and make people look stupid. You clearly used a lot of words that you don’t understand to try and look smart but instead you wind up making yourself look stupid. There’s no shame in using simple words to express yourself properly.