Sam Berns and Zdeno Chara #33 the Boston Bruins to walk to the centre of ice from the fall of puck ceremony before the match on November 9, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts.
A Massachusetts teenager who became a well known face of the premature aging disease progeria has died, his family confirmed online.
Sam Berns, of Foxborough, Massachusetts (United States), died on Friday at age 17, according to a statement published on the website of the Progeria research foundation. Children with the rare disease live an average of 13 years before succumbing to the genetic disease, which gives them the appearance of accelerated aging.
Berns was the subject of a documentary film by 2013 HBO, "The life according to Sam." The film attracted the attention of Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots NFL football team, which plays in the hometown of the Berns. The Patriots planned a minute of silence in honour of the teenager before their game against the Indianapolis Colts Saturday night, the local media.
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