'My Kids Have Childhood Dementia — Doctors Say They Won't Live To 20'

Imagine being a parent to beautiful kids and learning that your children won't live long. This is the story of this heartbroken mom with three young kids diagnosed with childhood dementia.

Renee Staska, who hails from Australia, made the devastating declaration during an interview on “A Current Affair” Monday night, saying her kids are not expected to survive until adulthood.

Channel 9/A Current Affair

“Everyone thinks tomorrow’s a given, but it’s not, so we just get through one day at a time,” the mom mournfully stated.

Staska’s children, Hudson, 8, Holly, 6, and Austin, 4, all have the rare inherited Niemann-Pick disease type C1.

The rare disease — which affects less than 5,000 people across the United States — is caused by a genetic mutation in both parents’ DNA, according to the National Institutes of Health. There is no known cure, with most children dying in their teenage years.

Staska says she had no idea that her children were suffering from this disease until doctors discovered younger son Austin had an enlarged liver back in 2020 when he was just 8 months old.

“They found Niemann-Pick disease type C1, which is a type of childhood dementia. I got given it on a piece of paper and told this is what it is, it was terminal, there was no cure or treatment,” Staska stated.

Channel 9/A Current Affair

A specialist then informed Staska that there was a 25 percent chance that her other kids might also be carrying this disease and that they should also get checked, even though they appeared completely normal.

Shockingly, the tests determined that Hudson and Holly also had Niemann-Pick disease type C1.

Niemann-Pick disease type C (NPC) is a rare inherited disorder that is characterized by an inability of the body to transport cholesterol and other fatty substances (lipids) inside cells.

This causes abnormal accumulation of these substances in the body including brain tissue thus causing symptoms that include enlarged liver, spleen, difficulty coordinating movements, as well as poor muscle tone. 

“I cried and I cried,” Staska recalled of the moment she learned of the devastating diagnosis.

Three years on, the mom says that both Hudson and Holly are now starting to show signs of childhood dementia.

Channel 9/A Current Affair

“Hudson struggles to read and write at school,” Staska stated. “Holly’s challenges are different. She breaks her own heart because she can’t keep up [with other children]. She tries so hard and can’t understand why it’s not working for her.”

The symptoms will only become worse with age for them. 

“They’ll start to regress, start to lose memories and body functions, as well as the ability to talk, the ability to eat until there’s nothing left to lose,” the mom declared.

Channel 9/A Current Affair

Watch the devastated mom's interview

The disease is rare but parents are advised to be educated about the symptoms this rare disease carries with itself that includes an enlarged liver and spleen, difficulty coordinating movement, and difficulty with speech and swallowing.