Progeria Has Taken My Teeth But Not My Smile | BORN DIFFERENT

A WOMAN who has been described as a medical anomaly has lost her hair and teeth but not her joyful spirit. Tiffany Wedekind, 43, from Columbus, Ohio, has progeria - a rapid ageing disease with an expected life expectancy of 13 years. Although Tiffany has faced her disease head on and hasn’t let it define her, the condition has taken an unexpected turn. She has now lost her hair and her teeth as a result of the disease but is determined to continue living her life to the fullest. Tiffany told Truly: “I’m sitting here for the world to see me with no teeth because there could be worse things.” She added: “I’m still alive, I have a lot of people that love me and they don’t care if I have teeth.” Progeria is an incredibly rare disease, with roughly 500 cases worldwide. Tiffany’s mum has the disease as did her brother, Chad, who passed away eight years ago. Now Tiffany is taking new medication to slow down the effects of progeria. “When I first started taking it, I was struggling a lot with stomach issues, however I’m starting to feel better and stronger.” On top of this, Tiffany had her teeth removed and she has lost her hair, and usually now wears a wig. Unfortunately for Tiffany, receiving dental implants is a difficult process as she has very little bone structure, so she’ll have to manage without teeth for a while. “I’m so done with people messing with my mouth,” she said. “I just want to live my life and smile again.”