CHALLI MUGUIRA: At 16 years old, you don’t want to hear that you are ageing faster. But being an adult,
I like being different.
CHALLI MUGUIRA: Progeria is a rare ageing disorder. Kids that have it normally pass away by the time they are
10 or 15. I have a very moderate case but I was told at a very early age that it would be a miracle if I would live to
be 30 years old. So I am obviously doing well.
COMM: 30-year-old Challi is one of the oldest surviving people living with a very rare form of progeria.
Her type of the condition was so unusual that it took doctors 16 years to formally diagnose her.
CHALLI MUGUIRA: At first they thought that it was a hole in the heart. That’s when it started, my whole life from 2
years old until I was about 16 I got diagnosed, non-stop doctors, non-stop poking and prodding.
When I was born, my teeth rotted out. Before they even came in, they were rotted. This picture, actually my teeth
are fake. I do have the features of someone that has progeria and you can tell by looking at me.
I don’t look thirty. I look older. As a kid, I got it a lot and it’s hard when you are 15 years old and people think you are 30.
That was rough. But even when I was younger, people think I am 21. I was only 18. I could drink at an early age.
It was funny, it came in handy.
COMM: As a child with progeria, Challi found herself the target for many bullies.
CHALLI MUGUIRA: I got teased so bad in middle school. But high school wasn’t as bad. I had a very wide group
of friends. I wouldn’t say I was popular but I wasn’t, you know, not popular.
COMM: It wasn’t until Challi left school that she met someone who she could really connect with.
CHALLI MUGUIRA: Tony and I met on a dating site.
CHALLI MUGUIRA: I think I loved him the moment I met him.
COMM: Tony is legally blind. And he and Challi bonded immediately.
TONY MUGUIRA: She just seems like a regular person to me. I never realised anything different and she is a really
a very strong person, very independent and supports me more than anything.
COMM: 18 months into their relationship, the pair decided to get married.
CHALLI MUGUIRA: My wedding day was perfect. It was everything I could dream of.
CHALLI MUGUIRA: Walking down the aisle and seeing Tony, I was so nervous, so nervous. But as soon as I got
to him, I was like, ‘This is it. My whole life is about to change.’ It was the happiest day of my life.
AMANDA: She is a very positive person and you have to be positive, you have to be positive with what she has
gone through and is what going to continue to go through because this world is very cruel and the world
will not change for one person.
AMANDA: You have to stay positive for yourself and she is like a bright light for other people.
AMANDA: Makes people look to the bright side of what they have been dealt with.
TONY MUGUIRA: Being with Challi changed my perspective on a lot of things.
TONY MUGUIRA: One in the million is the best way to describe her.
CHALLI MUGUIRA: As far as how long I am going to live, no one knows.
CHALLI MUGUIRA: There is going to be a point where my life will be shortened and I know that and it took me a
long time to come to terms with it. And it’s actually easier to live with it now that I am happy and I have
somebody who loves me.
CHALLI MUGUIRA: If I could tell anybody one thing about progeria it would be..
CHALLI MUGUIRA: It’s not always negative. If you can see the positive in it, you will have a great life.