Incredible case of the real-life ‘Benjamin Button’ brothers

Incredible case of the real-life ‘Benjamin Button’ brothers

If you are familiar with the Brad Pitt film, ‘The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button‘, where his character ages in reverse, then you can appreciate what a family in the Indian city of Ranchi, in Jharkhand state, are experiencing.

Two brothers, six-year-old Keshav Kumar, and Anjali Kumari, aged 12, live with their sister and parents, and both boys have developed a rare disease that is making them produce features similar to those in the storyline of the film, except in a reverse manner.

Both youngsters display the features of an older person, with wrinkled skin, joint pain, and puffy faces. The disease is not hereditary because their older sister has never suffered such symptoms.

Their parents have been informed that there really is no cure for this disease, which along with the physical features, obviously causes the poor boys such mental anguish, when people turn to stare at them.

Anjali was the first to display these traits, when he was just six months old. He was admitted to a hospital for what was thought to be a bout of pneumonia. But, as he recovered, his body suddenly went dry, and his skin sagged.

His stupefied parents took Anjali back to the medical facility, where medical professionals confessed that there was really no cure and that they could only hope for a miracle. A few years later, Keshav was born, and his parents were stunned when the exact same thing also happened to him.

They didn’t even bother taking him to the hospital, as they knew he obviously had the same incurable disease as his older brother.

In statements to local media, little Anjala confessed to receiving some insults. “I know that I am different from all of you in everything from my face to my body. My face is always puffy when everyone else is normal. People always look at me and make fun of me. My friends are always there. School often calls me ‘grandmother’, or ‘cute’, and that makes me very uncomfortable. I want to be treated like a normal boy”.

Their parents spend 500 rupees (€5.80) every month on Anjali and Keshav’s treatment, but it doesn’t work. They experience more and more ailments, and it seems that, for each month that passes, it is years for them. “I always massage Anjali’s feet, he is always in pain. Anjali keeps asking me when he will be like his sister”, said his mother, as reported by larazon.es.

___________________________________________________________

Thank you for reading, and don’t forget to check The Euro Weekly News for all your up-to-date local and international news stories, and remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.