(PCM) It is with great sadness that we have learned that 17-year old Hayley Okines has passed away after a life-long battle with the incurable disease progeria. Progeria is an incredibly rare aging disease, where her body aged eight times faster than an average person. She defied the odds of her disease living four years longer than her life expectancy of only 13 years.
Hayley was very well-known for spreading awareness about her disease and even published an autobiography detailing her life as a teenager living with progeria titled “Old Before My Time”. Her heartfelt reflections on her own mortality and her day-to-day life detailed in the book are both heartbreaking and inspiring. She was truly a girl fighting against all odds. She had even completed one full year of college prior to her passing.
Hayley died on April 2nd due to complications from pneumonia and by that point in time her body had aged to being nearly 104 years old. Our sincere condolences go out to Hayley’s family and friends during this incredibly difficult time. Hayley is survived by her mother, father and younger brother and sister neither of which suffers from progeria.
