Brooke Greenberg, 12, weighs 13 pounds and is 27 inches long. Posted on 05/13/2005 10:41:01 AM PDT by LibWhacker
BALTIMORE -- Imagine being frozen in time as a baby forever. It sounds impossible, but it describes Brooke Greenberg.
The Baltimore-area girl may look like a baby, but she's nearly a teenager. In most respects, Brooke looks and acts like your average 6-month-old baby -- she weighs 13 pounds and she is 27 inches long.
Brooke Greenberg, 12, weighs 13 pounds and is 27 inches long.
But Brooke is actually 12 years old, reported WBAL-TV in Baltimore.
Brooke doesn't age. Her syndrome remains undiagnosed and unnamed, and as far as doctors can tell, she is the only one in the world who has it.
Dr. Laurence Pakula has been Brooke's pediatrician since she was born.
"In height, weight, she's 6 to 12 months," Pakula said. "If you ask any physician who knows nothing about her, the response is that she is maybe a handicapped 2-year-old."
Her body may not be aging, but Brooke's health is deteriorating. She is fed through a tube, and she's had strokes, seizures, ulcers, severe respiratory problems and a tumor the size of a lemon.
The four times Brooke has come dangerously close to death, she bounced back and no one knows why.
Pakula points out that the girl has a strong sense of self and of sibling rivalry. Brooke has no language skills, but she does have enough motor skills to pull herself up in her crib or scoot across the kitchen floor.
Pakula said Brooke has thrived because of the support of her parents and three sisters.
"When one sees how much she has accomplished, it's a wonderful reminder that even for someone who's limited, it's a wonderful world out there," Pakula said.
As genetic research expands, scientists might be able to learn the secrets of this little girl. But until then, it is Brooke who is doing the teaching.
Well, a guy I used to know fell sick and almost died. While he was in the hospital bed, a visiting doctor from Korea looked in the doorway and started screaming something in Korean.
My friend had tetanus. And this was somewhere in one of the Seattle hospitals, so they were pretty well staffed. But no one had ever seen it before.
There have been cases of dwarfism where you have adults who look like they're still kids or even toddlers. I heard
of a dwarf in China who was in his 20s but stuck
at about 30 inches tall, and looking like a toddler. And 20/20 had the story of a guy in his 20s who had delayed puberty and actually refused hormonal treatment to bring it on because he wanted to be a kid actor. Now he's about 4'11", maybe just under 100 pounds.
I'm glad she has such a supportive family.
Best keep her out of Florida, that's for sure.
Come, come gentlemen, have some Tronya!
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/specials/seth/190908_progeriamain.asp 
Standing just 36 inches tall, Seth is dwarfed by fellow fifth-graders between classes at Darrington Elementary School. Nevertheless, he participates in all regular school activities as best he can, including physical education classes. (June 09, 2004)
Progeria.
http://www.progeriaresearch.org/
Pakula Recognized for Distinguished Service
[Beloit College Magazine]
Dr. Lawrence Pakula'53, a distinguished pediatrician and associate professor of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, was awarded the Distinguished Service Citation by the Alumni Association at 2003 Homecoming/Reunion festivities.
Pakula has cared for children since 1963 through a private practice he founded in Greenspring Station, Md., and by serving as an advocate for young people, especially those with behavioral, emotional, and learning problems.
“This year’s Distinguished Service Citation recipient exhibits all that Beloit College hopes of its alumni: that they become active citizens who leave a lasting and worthy impression by engaging themselves in a world beyond their own,” President Burris said when he presented Pakula with the award.
When he entered Beloit, Pakula already knew he wanted to be a doctor; however, a summer spent volunteering at a hospital in Israel—where he was by chance assigned to the pediatric ward—convinced him that working with children was what he wanted to do.
After completing medical school and residency, he discovered another path to helping kids. While serving as chief of pediatric services at a U.S. Air Force base hospital in the Philippines, he was responsible for the health needs of 10,000 dependent children. Pakula found that many of them, because of their circumstances, had behavioral and emotional problems which he wanted to be better prepared to address. He returned to Johns Hopkins (where he had completed his residency) for post-doctoral fellowships focusing on the psychiatric aspects of pediatrics and on evaluating the needs of children with disabilities.
He devotes about half his practice to working with children who have attention deficit disorder, mental retardation, cerebral palsy, and other developmental problems.
Pakula also has held a number of posts related to the field of pediatrics, including as a member of the scientific advisory board of The Jemicy School, a Maryland school for children with reading disorders, and as a pediatric consultant for special schools of the Baltimore County, Md., Board of Education. He also has served on the boards of several organizations that deal with the health and welfare of children.
In 1989, he was named Pediatrician of the Year and received a leadership award from the Maryland chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Pakula and his wife, Sheila Sutland Pakula, reside in Baltimore, Md. They have four children and eight grandchildren.
OH MY GOSH!! So I was right! LOLOL
Thanks for the info.
Sure, that's true. Happens all the time. But when was the last time it happened at John Hopkins? Or at any level I trauma center/teaching hospital in the US? We're talking about a whole different class of physicians (just my personal bias since my wife is a professor of medicine at one :-).
See post #90. Same guy.
Well, I'm just saying, there are unknown conditions. When my sister was very young, she got this huge rash and her face ballooned up.
They took her to University of Rochester, which is not exactly some clinic in Appalachia, took pictures, etc. Ruled out allergies, etc. The case ended up in some medical journals.
I imagine if you googled bizarre medical conditions, you'd see alot of stuff that's pretty far out.
I've seen a few pics of stuff I wouldn't wish on my worse enemies!
You have your opinion, I have mine. Let us agree to disagree.
Have a great day!
This story was in People Magazine about 2 years ago. At that time they said her health had stablized and she was fine. I hope the problems this article is referring to were ones she had earlier. The doctors at that time had no clue as to why she just overnight, stopped having problems and seemed very healthy, altho she did eat from a feeding tube.
She was actually going to a special school a few days a week, and went down the halls in a little walker, followed by a aide to be sure she got to the right place.
This family had a child older then her and one younger....wouldn't it be odd to be a younger sister to this girl:)
Becky
same guy. when we lived in Maryland, he was the pediatrician for my two daughters.
Care to enlighten all of us as to when Donald Herbert, the firefighter from Buffalo died? You know, the one who suddenly asked for his wife after 10 yrs. of drooling and being unresponsive in a nursing home.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.