Admirers, including New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and friends attended a funeral held for 17-year-old Sam Berns who died this past Friday of complications stemming from Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, the Associated Press reported.
Hundreds arrived for the funeral services at a synagogue in Sharon, Massachusetts, on Tuesday as buses filled with Berns' high school classmates pulled up to say their final goodbyes after a condition which accelerates the normal aging process took his life, according to the AP.
A reception was also held afterwards in Berns' hometown of Foxborough at the Gillette Stadium, the AP reported.
Berns' condition was rare but his battle to live inspired professional athletes on the Patriots football team, and Kraft had even invited the teenager to be the Patriots honorary captain for the Saturday game in which they beat the Indianapolis Colts. He died a day before the game, the AP reported.
The HBO documentary "Life According to Sam," released in 2013 sheds light on Berns' condition and the symptoms associated with the disorder, according to the AP. Aging related issues like the degeneration of the muscles and skeleton and heart related issues are the causes of death for those living with the disorder, according to the AP.
Patriots coach Kraft met Berns' at the documentary's premiere in New York last October and made a $500,000 matching donation to the Progeria Research Foundation.
Berns' had also paid a visit to one of the Patriots practices last month where he delivered an impromptu motivational speech to the players afterwards, according to the AP.
After being diagnosed with the aging disorder at 22 months, his parents, who are also physicians, started a non-profit research foundation called the Progeria Research Foundation in hopes of finding out more about the disorder, the AP reported.
