We generally don’t think of rare-disease advocacy as funny. But of the many qualities apparent to anyone who met Sammy Basso, a biologist and spokesperson for the progeria patient community, who died suddenly on Saturday at 28, perhaps the most disarming was his ability to find laughter in almost anything. One April Fool’s Day, he posted a video about his doctors putting him on a diet — an absurdity for someone whose genetic disorder prevented him from gaining weight. “A seafood diet. When I see food, I eat!” he said, pressing a button for a ba-dum-tss, grinning into the camera.
He knew the disease made him look unusual — bald, eyebrowless, prematurely aged, a bit like E.T. — and he loved to joke about it. He did it outside a friend’s house on Halloween, delighting in kids’ reactions as he handed out candy. He did it outside Area 51, the Nevada military base synonymous with UFOs and extraterrestrial life. “He put on some crazy sunglasses that looked like…
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