On July 20, 2014, a young mother named Danni gave birth baby Isla. It wasn’t until nurses went to weigh the newborn girl that they noticed she had no skin on her hands or feet.
Doctors quickly administered antibiotics, but two days later, Isla’s condition worsened to the point her body was covered in what looked like burn marks.
The doctors were baffled. Cream after cream, lotion after lotion, Danni still couldn’t get any answers as to Isla’s horrible skin condition. She feared Isla was going to die.
Isla was diagnosed with Epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a rare and potentially life-threatening condition. For two years, Danni hid the pain, heartache and frustration involved with what she and Isla were going through.
During this time, Danni was no stranger to verbal attacks. People on the street would make nasty comments about Isla’s skin and accuse her of being a neglectful mother. In reality, they had no idea what Danni or Isla were going through.
But now, Danni is sharing her story with the public, and it’s something everyone should see…
Danni Latham delivered her baby, a girl named Isla, on July 20, 2014. Danni couldn’t wait to meet her daughter. She was so grateful that her ultrasounds all looked normal.
But when nurses placed eight-pound Isla on the scale, they realized something horrible. The baby girl had no skin on her hands or feet.
Doctors said Isla had an infection and that medication would resolve the issue.
Two nights later, Danni woke up in the hospital to the sounds of concerned doctors surrounding Isla in her crib.
Isla’s “infection” had worsened, and no one on staff had ever seen anything like it before. One doctor thought Isla’s red marks and scabs — which covered her body — were the result of a bad reaction to one of the medications she’d been given.
No cream or medicine worked. The worse Isla’s condition got, the more Danni grew concerned. But doctors were still stumped.
Danni was even braced for the possibility that Isla would not survive.
Isla was eventually diagnosed with Epidermolysis bullosa, also known as EB, a rare skin condition.
According to Debra.org, EB affects 1 out of every 20,000 births in the United States. There is no treatment or cure, and the prominent symptom is extremely fragile skin that blisters and tears from minor friction or trauma.
Severe cases of EB can be fatal, but Isla’s case was more mild.
For the next two years, Danni kept her and Isla’s nightmarish battle with EB to herself.
Disapproving strangers have stopped them on the street to verbally attacked Danni.
The mother has endured nasty questions and comments like, “What have you done to her? Has she not worn suncream? She looks burnt!”
But in the past two years, Danni and Isla have also formed an unbreakable bond while navigating EB together.
Every day, Danni injects Isla’s blisters to drain the fluid, then bandage and cover her body with creams.
Some days, Isla’s EB is so bad that her skin peels off and she cannot move.
But this brave little girl is a fighter and has learned to press on and enjoy as many normal, playful activities as possible.
“They told me she wouldn’t live beyond six weeks; she is now two,” Danni says. “They told me she wouldn’t be able to talk; she can sing. They told me she wouldn’t walk; she runs. Everything they said she couldn’t do she has bettered.”
For the first time, Danni is now going public with her story to raise awareness about EB. It’s a condition of which many individuals and even doctors are still unaware, and people are suffering from it every day.
Source http://www.littlethings.com/
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