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Eight-Year-Old Boy Is Suffering From Rare Condition Which Is 'Turning Him To Stone'

Eight-Year-Old Boy Is Suffering From Rare Condition Which Is 'Turning Him To Stone'

He's bullied because of it.

Mark McGowan

Mark McGowan

All across the world there are plenty of illnesses that baffle even the most informed minds.

Last year a four-year-old boy named Bayezid Hossain from Bangladesh went viral for his rare condition that means he ages eight times faster than normal.

Now, in an equally bizarre case, an eight-year-old is going viral for his illness which 'turns him to stone'.

Similar to Bayezid, Mehendi Hassan is looked down upon by society for his acute skin disease, which causes him pain when he touches anything.

Unfortunately the Bangladeshi boy is forced to stay indoors and doesn't see other children as he 'terrifies' them with his thick, scaly skin.

Credit: Caters

The condition is yet to be properly diagnosed, despite his mother's pleas to the government, so he is forced to be cut off from his community, including his grandmother.

Jahanara Begum, his mum, said: "Other children detest him. People find him filthy because of his condition.

"He has been home for eight years because whenever he goes out, villagers get scared and say bad things to him.

"Everyone hates him, no one likes to see him or eat in front of him. Not even my mother-in-law. I beg government to help my child."

When poor Mehendi was just 12-days-old his mother and father, Abul Kalam Azad, noticed rashes on his body. He had been born a healthy child, so his parents ignored the rashes, thinking it was due to mosquito bites.

Within three months the rash had spread, covering his his fingers, chest and back.

They called upon local doctors and various medicines but nothing helped the condition, eventually leading them to give up.

Credit: Caters

"They all say he suffers from a rare skin disease but no one has been able to cure him. I have no money left," his father said. "Whenever I could save a little, say £10, I would take him to doctors.

"Eventually, all my savings and earnings were exhausted on his treatment but there was no cure.

"Frustrated, I stopped taking him to doctors."

Doctors are baffled by the severe condition, with no clue as to what it is and how he contracted it.

Sadly, it's beginning to ruin his life. He is called names and bullied by other children, and also struggles to walk through the pain.

"I had enrolled him to a school but there he was beaten up by other children," his mother said. "One day he came home crying and saying he was assaulted in school.

"I requested his teachers to please pay attention to him and see no one beats him up but the teachers said they were unable to discipline other kids and that his presence was affecting studies of other children."

Credit: Caters

Much like Mehendi, Bayezid - who ages eight times faster than normal - suffers similar torment.

He has been diagnosed with progeria, which causes him difficulties urinating, and gives him a swollen face, sagging skin, hollow eyes, aching joints, as well as weak teeth.

Unfortunately, children the same age as Bayezid are afraid of him because of the rare condition, which means he can't go to school. People in the community usually avoid him, despite the fact that after word spread about his birth, people queued up outside his house to see him.

Tripti Khatun, the four-year-old's mother, said: "Bayezid only learned to walk aged three but he had a full set of teeth at three months old.

"His physical growth is completely abnormal but mentally, he has wonderful conversation, very aware and is very intuitive for his age.

"He does not look like other children. He looks like an old man. As a first time mother I can't bear the pain of seeing my child like this."

When Bayezid was born in 2012, doctors were stunned and unable to help Tripti and her husband, Lovelu Hossain.

"I was terrified to see him when he was born," Tripti said. "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 that there was nothing they could do."

Credit: Cover Asia Press via YouTube

Unfortunately, Tripti and Lovelu received no help from their local community, who instead gossiped about their child, and discussed their capabilities as parents.

Typically, those who suffer from progeria have a short life span, usually dying from heart attacks or strokes at an average age of 13.

Bayezid has been labeled the 'Old Man' by locals, but is slowly being accepted.

According to his mother, he understands the implications of his condition but cries whenever it is spoken about.

His dad, Lovelu, has accepted that there may not be a cure for Bayezid, but also believes that, as his family are poor, his son isn't getting the best chance of survival.

Featured Image Credit: Caters