Schoolboy, 11, ageing at five times the normal speed after becoming only boy in the world with genetic condition. He skateboards, swims, rides his bike and climbs trees like any other 11-year-old boy.
But Harry Crowther's body is ageing five times faster than his friends' - and he is the only person in the world with this condition.
The schoolboy from Mirfield, West Yorkshire, has already been diagnosed with arthritis and takes painkillers four times a day to relieve him from the aches and pains a pensioner may suffer.
His skin has also started to thin as the ageing process takes hold and the bones in his fingers and collar bone have begun to erode.
But because he is the only person in the world to suffer from this rare form of Atypical Progeria Syndrome, doctorss cannot predict how Harry's illness will develop.
His parents, Sharron and John Crowther, know their son's life will be cut short by the condition. So they make the most of every day with their brave and cheerful son.
Mrs Crowther, deputy manager at Wellhouse pre-school in Mirfield, said: 'It's just a sit and wait game. Because the change in Harry's gene is unique, they cannot say what's going to happen.
'We have had our tears and the "why us" moments like every family would have.
'But we have to remember he is walking, talking and is in mainstream school. It is just that his body is a bit different.
'There is always someone who is worse off than you.'
Harry - who lives with his parents, sister Emma, 16 and 14-year-old brother Jack - was born at Dewsbury District Hospital without any complications.
Doctors first thought he had a cleft palate, but tests revealed his mouth was normal.
Harry Crowther and Sharron
Yet by the time he was one, Harry had developed large brown freckles under his armpits and the skin across his abdomen became tighter. As he started school, his face began to alter and he was eventually referred to a geneticist at Leeds General Infirmary.
For years, Harry's symptoms baffled doctors until his parents saw a television programme about a girl with Hutchinson Guilford Progeris Syndrome - the nearest illness to Harry's condition - and the penny dropped.
Harry was diagnosed at the specialist UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, when he was seven.
The oldest sufferer of a similar condition survived to the age of 26.
Mrs Crowther said: 'I was relieved we knew what it was and that it wasn't Hutchinson Guilford which is more severe and has a lifespan of just 13.
'It is a bit frustrating because there isn't anyone we can talk to who has the condition.
'People stare and even go back and get their friends to stare. It really upsets him and I just think why?'
Harry takes pain relief tablets four times a day and does daily exercises to help loosen his stiff and aching joints. He also has hydrotherapy once a week.
He tires more quickly than other children and often has to take short rests at Crossley Fields Junior and Infant School where he attends.
Mrs Crowther added: 'The school and his classmates have been brilliant. He is just Harry to them.
'If we go out he gets tired and goes on his dad's shoulders and he can't do activities like football because he has no body fat.
'But we don't wrap him up in cotton wool.'
Harry, who is due to start Castle Hall School in September, said: 'I can do a lot of things other children can do, but sometimes it stops me doing what I like doing because I ache.
'It feels weird and hurts most when I'm in bed.
'I get upset when people who don't know me stare and it's annoying going to hospitals.'
Harry, a member of the 8th Mirfield Cub group, will meet his hero TV celebrity and Chief Scout Bear Grylls in London on Sunday.
The cub has been invited to attend the St George's Day parade at Windsor Castle after being presented with the Chief Scout's Award for his bravery.
Harry and his mother will be among five families from Great Ormond Street Hospital being flown to Majorca for a one-week stay to see the opening of the Pirates Ultimate Adventure, courtesy of First Choice. ( dailymail.co.uk )
But Harry Crowther's body is ageing five times faster than his friends' - and he is the only person in the world with this condition.
The schoolboy from Mirfield, West Yorkshire, has already been diagnosed with arthritis and takes painkillers four times a day to relieve him from the aches and pains a pensioner may suffer.
Harry Crowther
Rare diagnosis: Harry Crowther's body is ageing five times faster than his contemporaries - and he is the only person in the world with this condition
Rare diagnosis: Harry Crowther's body is ageing five times faster than his contemporaries - and he is the only person in the world with this condition
His skin has also started to thin as the ageing process takes hold and the bones in his fingers and collar bone have begun to erode.
But because he is the only person in the world to suffer from this rare form of Atypical Progeria Syndrome, doctorss cannot predict how Harry's illness will develop.
His parents, Sharron and John Crowther, know their son's life will be cut short by the condition. So they make the most of every day with their brave and cheerful son.
Mrs Crowther, deputy manager at Wellhouse pre-school in Mirfield, said: 'It's just a sit and wait game. Because the change in Harry's gene is unique, they cannot say what's going to happen.
'We have had our tears and the "why us" moments like every family would have.
'But we have to remember he is walking, talking and is in mainstream school. It is just that his body is a bit different.
'There is always someone who is worse off than you.'
Harry - who lives with his parents, sister Emma, 16 and 14-year-old brother Jack - was born at Dewsbury District Hospital without any complications.
Doctors first thought he had a cleft palate, but tests revealed his mouth was normal.
Harry Crowther and Sharron
Atypical Progeria Syndrome: The 11-year-old, pictured with his mother Sharron, has already been diagnosed with arthritis and takes painkillers four times a day
Yet by the time he was one, Harry had developed large brown freckles under his armpits and the skin across his abdomen became tighter. As he started school, his face began to alter and he was eventually referred to a geneticist at Leeds General Infirmary.
For years, Harry's symptoms baffled doctors until his parents saw a television programme about a girl with Hutchinson Guilford Progeris Syndrome - the nearest illness to Harry's condition - and the penny dropped.
Harry was diagnosed at the specialist UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, when he was seven.
The oldest sufferer of a similar condition survived to the age of 26.
Mrs Crowther said: 'I was relieved we knew what it was and that it wasn't Hutchinson Guilford which is more severe and has a lifespan of just 13.
'It is a bit frustrating because there isn't anyone we can talk to who has the condition.
'People stare and even go back and get their friends to stare. It really upsets him and I just think why?'
Harry takes pain relief tablets four times a day and does daily exercises to help loosen his stiff and aching joints. He also has hydrotherapy once a week.
He tires more quickly than other children and often has to take short rests at Crossley Fields Junior and Infant School where he attends.
Mrs Crowther added: 'The school and his classmates have been brilliant. He is just Harry to them.
'If we go out he gets tired and goes on his dad's shoulders and he can't do activities like football because he has no body fat.
'But we don't wrap him up in cotton wool.'
Harry, who is due to start Castle Hall School in September, said: 'I can do a lot of things other children can do, but sometimes it stops me doing what I like doing because I ache.
'It feels weird and hurts most when I'm in bed.
'I get upset when people who don't know me stare and it's annoying going to hospitals.'
Harry, a member of the 8th Mirfield Cub group, will meet his hero TV celebrity and Chief Scout Bear Grylls in London on Sunday.
The cub has been invited to attend the St George's Day parade at Windsor Castle after being presented with the Chief Scout's Award for his bravery.
Harry and his mother will be among five families from Great Ormond Street Hospital being flown to Majorca for a one-week stay to see the opening of the Pirates Ultimate Adventure, courtesy of First Choice. ( dailymail.co.uk )
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