" The Teenager That Time Forgot"

Born with a still unidentified syndrome that has doctors completely baffled, Brooke looks and acts like a 6-month-old.Weighing just 16lbs. and standing 2'6" tall (a toddler's height).Brooke doesn't grow except for her hair and nails. She is little different from the fragile baby her mom sang lullabys to back in 1993. I've been focused on her for three years " says Dr. Richard Walker , a neuroendocrinologist studying Brooke, I've yet to find anyone comparable.
Brooke came to the world's attention eight years ago, when news organizations ,including People Magazine (Sept. 17,2001), shared the the story of this seemingly ageless child and her family in suburban Baltimore. Now the focus of a "TLC" documentary [ Child Frozen In Time] Brooke has lost baby fat and learned to walk with support,says mom Melanie, but otherwise it's like the movie "Groundhog Day" the same every day.
Brooke's story fascinated Dr.Walker of Tampa, whose tests have lead him to conclude that brooks body is not developing as a unit, mentally she's still an infant. She giggles and cries, lights up when she sees her mom and reaches out to be held; she still wears diapers and has never spoken a word. Her dental age is that of an 8 year-old ( she has a mixture of baby teeth and permanent teeth) and her cellular age is comparable to a 16-year-old's, though she hasn't gone through puberty and likely never will. Brooke has suffered a lifetime's worth of illnesses, pneumonia,seizures,a brain mass and at 4, a coma like sleep that lasted 14 days and prompted her terrified parents to pick out a coffin, I still feel, says her dad Howard,52, when I go in to check on her she will be gone.Brooke can't swallow normally, so she receives a special formula through a tube in her stomach.
Brooke's mom, Melanie says " every time I hold her, every time I get a smile is a very special moment." She's here for a reason, I believe she has something to tell us", says dad Howard Greenberg."You think she's fragile , but she's not," says Nandah Zainbu one of Brooke's nurses. Brooke is very strong.Brooke's mom says we don't want to fix her,she's not broken,we love her the way she is. She knows we are always there for her and the best we can do is to make her happy.
My take on this: What a warm and loving family. My PIC and I wish them the best.
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