South African woman who delivered a baby with a rare genetic condition known as progeria want the government to take away the child.
Frustrated 20-year old Ongeziwe Mtshobi said she did not expect that her first child would have such a condition, which makes the skin to age rapidly.
“This is my first child, I expected a baby that will make me happy, I don’t know how I will live a life with a child that is already looking this old at two months.” Ongoziwe said during an interview with Briefly News.
According to her, her two months old daughter is already an outcast in the community even though she named her Onesipho, which means ‘the gifted one’.
Ongeziwe said that she now needs mental counselling and psychological help to be able to deal with the situation.
Onesipho was born on June 26, at home after an ambulance took long to pick Ongeziwe who had gone into labor.
Her grandmother Ntombizakhe Mtshobi, said that they noted that something was wrong with her immediately after birth as she behaved completely different from other newborns.
The condition of the baby threw the family into a state of confusion as they had never encountered such.
55-year old Ntombizakhe said that it was so hard to accept that their baby looked elderly.
“We have become a laughing stock in the community, I have so many kids and I am not employed and now this happens, when I hold her, I burst into tears,” she said.
The baby was recently admitted to hospital for procedural medical observation after birth.
According to medics, progeria has no cure it can be monitored by checking whether the heart and blood vessels are healthy. The condition is not inherited and only happens randomly.
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