Sammy Basso has died. The Italian patient with progeria was 28 years old

“He measures about 135 centimeters and weighs about 20 kilograms, has barely any fat under his parchment-thin skin, and no hair on his head. His face is wrinkled and his nose sticks out. His bones are brittle, his hip joints are prone to painful dislocations, and his heart and arteries blocked, calcified and stiffened as in a person many decades older” – this is how the New York Times described the then 26-year-old Sammy Basso in 2022.

Basso suffered from the very rare Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, which is characterized by accelerated aging of the skin, bones, heart and blood vessels. People suffering from progeria age on average 10 times faster than healthy people. The average life expectancy of affected people who do not undergo treatment is approximately 13 years.

Basso was born in 1995 in Schio, in the northern Veneto region. Italyand was diagnosed with Hutchinson-Gilford progeria at the age of two. In 2005, he and his parents founded the Italian Progeria Association.

The Italian gained recognition thanks to the National Geographic documentary “Sammy's Journey”, which tells the story of his journey along the legendary Route 66 in the United States, from Chicago to Los Angeles, with his parents and one of his best friends, Riccardo.

“Today our light, our guide, went out. Thank you, Sammy, for making us part of this wonderful life,” the association wrote on social media.

“He taught us all that although life's obstacles may sometimes seem insurmountable, it is worth living to the fullest. On behalf of the family, friends and the Italian Progeria Association, we would like to thank everyone for their closeness,” it added.

In 2022, in an interview with the New York Times, Basso admitted that the moment he realized that his life “would be different” was very painful for him.

“We were devastated,” recalled his mother, Laura Lucchin. – You have a 2-year-old son and your plans, and suddenly it all disappears – she said. However, her account reveals a picture of a happy child who was not in the habit of feeling sorry for herself. She said that once when she was washing the dishes and she started crying, her son came into the kitchen and said to her: “Mom, smile at me.”

Basso, despite obvious limitations and difficulties, was very active. He was active in a theater group, appeared at conferences and on television. He tried to learn as much as possible about his disease – in 2018, he defended his thesis at the University of Padua on therapies that could slow down the development of progeria.

“In his hometown, crowds surrounded him on the street, artists created sculptures in his likeness, and officials installed him as a unique coronavirus vaccination spokesman who can urge all Italians, whether they are young like him or seemingly old and vulnerable – also like him – to get vaccinated,” wrote the New York Times.

He was also able to approach himself with a distance and even joke about his fate, for example, during a visit to the UFO museum in the United States, he pretended to be an alien for a moment because – as he said – “he resembles him a bit.”

“In many ways he's a typical Veneto guy, joking with his friends about his unlimited appetite and love of drink. When doctors in Boston told him that red wine was good for his heart, he replied, 'Oh, I'll live forever.'” wrote the New York Times.

Basso himself said that his life was a kind of duality. “He is a young man who seems old, an adult, sometimes treated patronizingly like a child. He is a scientist and a devout Catholic, a clinical trial patient and a researcher at the same time,” the “NYT” described him two years ago.

The Italian was also an example to other people suffering from progeria. He expressed hope that his high recognition would increase the chances that others would seek help.

– I would like them to learn from my experience that their lives are important, that they can be helpful to the world – he emphasized.

Reuters writes that only 130 cases of classic progeria have been diagnosed in the world, four of them in Italy. However, the Italian Progeria Association estimates that there may be as many as 350 cases because some diseases can be difficult to detect, especially in poorer countries.