Brooke Greenberg, the girl known to have eternal youth due to a medical condition, died at age 20.
The third daughter of Howard and Melanie Greenberg who lives in Reisterstown, Maryland, she is just one among one dozen of kids around the globe who have the same condition called Syndrome X, characterized by disorders in cognitive and physical aging which has still yet to be explained.
At 16, she still had baby teeth and the age of her bones was comparable to a 10-year old. It is said that only her fingernails and hair consistently grew.
Throughout her unique life, she was always moved around with a stroller. She had several medical conditions that involved hospitalization like surgeries, stomach ulcers, brain seizure and stroke from which she recovered without proper scientific explanation.
When she was four, she became lethargic and went to sleep for two weeks. Then when she was thought to be dying with brain tumor, her family bought her a casket.
"We were preparing for our child to die. We were saying goodbye. And, then, we got a call that there was some change -- that Brooke had opened her eyes and she was fine. There was no tumor. She overcomes every obstacle that is thrown her way," his father told to ABC News.
At that time, she was only weighing of 16 lbs. and stands 30 inches tall. Although she could recognize her three sisters, she couldn’t speak to them but laughed heartily when in joy.
From two years old until her untimely death, now retired medical researcher Richard F. Walker of the University of Florida Medical School had closely monitored her case. He had compared her DNA with the other syndrome X-inflicted children.
According to Walker, "In some people, something happens to them and the development process is retarded. The rate of change in the body slows and is negligible.”
In Brooke’s case, "There've been very minimal changes” in her brain. “Various parts of her body, rather than all being at the same stage, seem to be disconnected," explained Walker.
On Sunday, her remains will be brought to a synagogue outside Baltimore, where the Shiva rites will be performed.
