Goodbye to Sammy Basso. The boy suffering from progeria leaves us at 28 years old

He passed away at just 28 years old Sammy Basso, the boy affected by progeriaa rare disease that causes premature aging even if it is not mind-altering, he became famous after his participation in the Sanremo Festival in 2015. According to reports CourierSammy, who had returned to Italy a few days ago from a trip to China, he apparently fell ill while he was in a restaurant. The news was spread through social media by the staff of the Italian Progeria Association which Sammy Basso had founded in 2005 to spread knowledge about his disease and to promote research to slow down its development.

Born in Schio on 1 December 1995Sammy Basso has always lived with his family in Tezze sul Brenta, without being influenced too much by the illness he was living with. After obtaining his scientific high school diploma at the St. J. Da Ponte Scientific High School in Bassano del Grappa, Sammy enrolled in the Physics degree course at the University of Padua and then moved on to the Natural Sciences course. His dream, once he completed his studies, was to work at CERN in Geneva. After graduating with 110 cum laude, with a thesis dedicated to the existence of therapies to slow down the progression of one’s pathology, he achieved, ion March 23, 2021, the master’s degree in Molecular Biology at the University of Padua.

Alberto Cattaneo / ipa-agency.net

To make himself known he documented his trip to the USA, along Route 66, writing a book entitled Sammy’s journeyand recording a series of episodes for Sky’s Nat Geo People channel. «Today our light, our guide, went out. Thank you Sammy for letting us participate in this wonderful life. We rally around family and friends in respect of the pain in this delicate moment of mourning”, wrote the staff of the Italian Progeria Association on social media, greeting a boy who never stopped pursuing the projects he wanted to realize by committing himself first queue to spread awareness of his illness.