Brooke Greenberg, the 20-year-old toddler stopped growing about 16 years ago. Medical experts say she has such a rare disease that it is the only one of its kind in the world. In fact, it's ony called "Syndrome X," because there is no established name for it. Brooke's chronological age is 20, but she is trapped in a toddler's body. Ironically, her family says she does not need to be "cured."
Citing a Jan. 11 report from MyFox8, Brooke's family appeared on Thursday's segment of "Katie" with Katie Couric and shared their one-of-a-kind story with its host.
"From age one to four, Brooke changed. She got a little bit bigger. But age four, four to five, she stopped," explained Howard, Greenberg's father.
Although Greenberg's rare condition stumps medical experts, doctors say she is a modern-day medical marvel.
The 20-year-old toddler suffered many medical emergencies including a stroke and several seizures. Furthermore, her family reports that Brooke was in a coma for two weeks.
During that time, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. And here's where the miracle part really hits home: when she came out of the coma, the tumor had vanished.
Greenberg was born in 1993 and since that time, caring for her has been a round-the-clock task. Thankfully, everyone, even her 17-year-old sibling, pitches in.
Caring for a 20-year-old trapped inside a child's body doesn't come easy.
Doctors are now hard at work on sequencing Brooke's genetic code. They believe her rare disease is caused by a mutated gene that shut off her ability to mature.
The group hopes to find some information that could assist in slowing down the aging process of others, preventing or reversing Alzheimers, and other age-related diseases and conditions.
The adorable 20-year-old toddler attracts attention in the public. However, as any protective mom would do, Brooke's mom tells little lies by turning years into mere months.
Comments