A girl with a rare disease befriends a strong man nicknamed the Beast
David Douglas knows firsthand what it means to be strong: a former marine with a height of 182 cm and a weight of 150 kilograms, he retrained as a power triathlete and was nicknamed the Beast. He can lift twice his own weight, but it wasn't until he met 12-year-old Lindsay Ratcliffe that Douglas realized the true meaning of the word "strength."
Lindsay has one of the rarest genetic diseases - progeria. Because of this, her body ages 8-10 times faster than that of a normal person. Unfortunately, this means that a girl's life expectancy is unlikely to exceed 13 years.
(Total 8 photos)
Photo posted by David Douglas (@davidthebeastdouglas) Feb 24, 2016 at 5:56 pm PST
David and Lindsay met in 2013 at the Relentless powerlifting competition and have since become so close that they have become inseparable.
Photo posted by David Douglas (@davidthebeastdouglas) Feb 17, 2016 at 12:59 pm PST
The event was sponsored by HopeKids, an organization that helps children with rare diseases.
Photo posted by David Douglas (@davidthebeastdouglas) Feb 3, 2016 at 9:31 AM PST
David says that no one even suspects how hard it is sometimes for his young girlfriend, and all because she is always smiling.
Photo posted by David Douglas (@davidthebeastdouglas) Jan 21, 2016 at 6:29 pm PST
Lindsay from the very first day became a little sister for a huge triathlete. And there are no words to describe his feelings for her.
Keywords: Disease | Girl | Friendship | Strength | Strongman