In my opinion, Sam Berns is the face of progeria.

I first saw his inspirational Ted Talk, “My philosophy for a happy life,” a couple of years ago, but then stumbled upon it again when researching progeria.

Honestly, it is really difficult for me to hear an inspirational talk and not think that it is cliché. Maybe it was his age, his disease, or his sincere, genuine, and simple tone of voice that resonated with me the most, but regardless, Sam’s talk hit home.

Progeria is an extremely rare, genetic disorder that causes premature aging to occur in its patients.

This aging not only leads to a series of physical abnormalities, but also severe heart problems later on. Because of the complications of progeria, the disease is fatal.

Needless to say, Sam had much more to deal with than the average teenager and arguably, much more to deal with than many other rare disease patients; he faced death by his mere twenties. Sam had the world on his shoulders. Even so, remarkably, he was more down-to-earth and optimistic than most everyone that I know. When asked on NPR what the most important thing was for people to know about Sam, he replied, simply:

“I have a very happy life.”

So, he blessed us with this happiness, and in case you haven’t seen his Ted Talk already, here is his philosophy for a happy life:

“Be OK with what you ultimately can’t do, because there is so much you CAN do”

“Surround yourself with people you want to be around”

Sam elaborated by telling us how blessed he is to play snare drum in the school band, hang out with his friends, and be able to go to the homecoming dance party the next day.

To him, the little things are the most important and also the things that provide the most fulfillment in life.

I think we all can take a moment to appreciate Sam’s lessons, and his philosophy for a happy life is one that is not cliché, but rather straightforward and effective in the loveliest of ways, while spreading awareness about his condition to the world.

Here is the link to Sam’s Ted Talk, and here is the link to the HBO documentary about Sam’s life and the search for a progeria cure.

I hope that he can inspire you the way he has inspired me and millions of others.

Rest in peace, Sam Berns.

What do you think of Sam and his philosophy? Who inspires you? Share your thoughts with the Patient Worthy community!