OAKDALE, Illinois— Doctors at Oakdale Memorial Hospital are spearheading a campaign to bring nationwide awareness to a mysterious health issue that has plagued some small cities for decades. “The whole world really needs to know what’s going on here,” said Dr. Bob Hughes, “If this can happen here in the heartland, it can happen anywhere.” Hughes hopes that added attention will help raise funds for a research wing. “People in this town like Lucinda Walsh have been very generous, but we could use more help.”

For years, children in Oakdale have experienced what Hughes’ calls a “Rapid Aging Syndrome” where they appear to age from a small child to a teenager in just a few short years. The syndrome has also affected the children of Springfield, Genoa City, and Bay City in the Midwest, but no cases have been reported elsewhere that region. Families in Pennsylvania have felt the impact of this syndrome in the cities of Pine Valley, Llanview, and Corinth. There have been reports in a few other locations, with Los Angeles being the only big city affected in recent years. “If this were happening in New York City, we’d have better funding and I’m sure we’d have this licked by now,” said Hughes.

Dr. Rick Bauer of Springfield has first-hand knowledge of this syndrome. “It’s weird, I don’t remember much of my childhood, but high school seemed to last a long time,” remarked Bauer. “Though my college years flew by and I was a doctor in record time, so maybe this isn’t just a childhood disorder.” Bauer hopes that he and his colleagues at Cedars Hospital in Springfield can work with Dr. Hughes and Dr. Stewart of Oakdale Memorial. “Perhaps if we pool our resources we can get to the bottom of this and children won’t have to grow up so fast.”