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Tendai Gukutikwa
Mutare Bureau
A PUZZLING case, purportedly linked to the rare Benjamin Button syndrome, has plunged a Watsomba family into unmitigated despair, amid claims that their nine-month-old baby’s face is undergoing a disturbing transformation, gradually assuming features of an elderly man.
The anguished parents, Japhet Chinyanga and Rutendo Nyamutata, recounted in an interview, how their baby, born with a healthy and normal appearance, began to exhibit a drastic and bizarre change at five months, as his face started to prematurely wrinkle and take on an unsettling, aged aspect.
“In the beginning, we thought it was just a rash or a skin problem, but as the months went by, his face kept changing. It was like watching our son rapidly aging,” said Chinyanga, his voice heavy with emotion.
The family initially sought medical help, taking their child to Sally Mugabe (Harare) Hospital, where doctors reassured them that the baby was physically well, despite his odd facial changes.
But as the child’s breathing grew laboured and his appetite diminished, the parents grew desperate for answers.
“We went to different hospitals, but they all told us that the baby was fine, yet, he could barely eat. He can only take two spoons of porridge, and this is taking a toll on us as a family because we are seeing our baby transforming into an elderly person in less than a year,” said Chinyanga.
With no clear medical diagnosis, the family turned to traditional healers, and that is when their nightmare deepened.
Several healers allegedly told the couple that their baby’s transformation was not natural, but a result of witchcraft.
“One healer told us that someone had turned our baby into a goblin to torment us. Another said it was our ancestral spirits, angry over something we had not done, and that they wanted appeasement. We are now caught between the world of science and spirit world, and we do not know which way to turn,” said Chinyanga.
Nyamutata, visibly shaken, wept during the interview.
“We were told that some witches changed our child’s face and gave him a goblin’s face. It is painful seeing him like this. I hope that there will be a medical explanation on what is happening to my son. We need an urgent solution. We also appealing for US$500 that is needed for the scans,” she sobbed.
The family said they were referred to a medical professor at the University of Zimbabwe, who suggested a CT scan and an echocardiogram after suspecting a congenital heart defect.
“We just want to know the truth. If it is a medical condition, we will fight for the necessary treatment. But if it is spiritual, we just want to know what we have to do to save our baby. Another doctor told us that the child could be suffering from Hitchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome, but that can only be diagnosed through tests, which are yet to be done,” said Nyamutata.
People sometimes use the term Benjamin Button’s disease to refer to Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome.
Progeria is an extremely rare genetic disorder that causes children to age rapidly, showing signs like wrinkled skin, hair loss, and heart problems, usually starting in early childhood, the same symptoms the couple’s child is showing.
The National Organisation for Rare Disorders in its Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome Report of 2021 states that children with Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome are usually diagnosed between six months and two years old.
“The condition often becomes noticeable when babies start showing unusual signs of aging, like slow growth and failure to gain weight, hair loss, including eyelashes and eyebrows, wrinkled or thin skin, joint stiffness and visible veins, aged facial features like a small face, pinched nose, and prominent eyes,” reads the report.
The report also states that doctors might initially miss the diagnosis because the symptoms can develop gradually.
“I pray every day for a miracle. I just want my baby to lead a normal life. I would like to believe that this is a medical condition and not a spiritual one. I pray that we get help with the scans, and we are appealing to the public to help us because we are poor people who have no money,” Nyamutata whispered.
Those who want to help the couple can send them funds via Japhet Chinyanga’s EcoCash number which is +263774738741.
Online Reporter