Meet the 16-year-old girl with a rare condition which makes her look 60 (PHOTO)

A teenager who suffers from a rare genetic condition which makes her
look middle-aged has been given newconfidence thanks to pioneering
facelift surgery.
Zara Hartshorn, 16, from Rotherham, south Yorkshire, had to endure
years of cruel taunts and even physical abuse because of her
appearance.
She inherited lipodystrophy – which makes her skin looked wrinkled and
twisted – from her mother Tracey Gibson who also suffers from the
illness.
But after hearing of her condition, a top surgeon in the US offered to
perform cosmetic surgery for free. It has proved to be a complete
success and Zara has felt able to start a relationship with new
boyfriend Ricky Andrews and is even keen to go to college.
Tough: Zara Hartshorn has endured a difficult childhood suffering from
a condition which makes her appear middle-aged

New start: Thanks to pioneering facelift surgery, Zara says she feels
much more confident about her appearance
It is a remarkable change of fortunes for the teenager who was once
left in tears after being made to get off a bus for not being able to
prove she was eligible for a child's ticket.
By the time she was 12, Zara was already being mistaken for a
middle-aged woman – and was even mistaken for 17-year-old sister
Chloe'smother.
But now thanks to a lifeline by a surgeon in the US Zara feels
indistinguishable from her peers.
Dr Abhimanyu Garg told Zara her condition is actually cutis laxa, an
even rarer disease which only affects 30 people in the UK.
And Zara, who one day dreams of owning a beauty salon, says she is
ready to leave the past behind and forgive her tormentors.
She said: 'Before I had surgery I was picked on for looking different,
now Ilook the same as other girls my age.
'I don't feel like people are staring at me when I walk down the
street anymore. I finally feel like a teenager.
'I've carried some hurtful comments with me all my life but now I feel
ready to leave the past behind and forgive and forget.'
Her newfound self-assurance has helped her start a relationship with
apprentice painter and decorator Ricky, 22, three months ago, who she
met through friends.
She said: 'I've had boyfriends in the the past but I don't think any
accepted my condition, really. But with Ricky it's never been an
issue.