Meet ‘Butterfly Girl’: Four-Year-Old Girl Has Skin That Tears Off With The Slightest Touch

A four-year-old girl has been nicknamed “butterfly girl” after her rare condition that makes her skin tear off with the slightest touch.

This is Jasmine Ritchie.

When she was born, her mother, Anna, 38, from Leonard Stanley, Gloucestershire in the UK, and her husband, Iain, were over the moon and had no concerns about their daughter. However, soon after, they noticed a blister on Jasmine’s knee, so tests were done to know its cause, and the results left them heartbroken.

“I just thought she was overdue and her skin was delicate, but when they took a blanket off her she’d kicked all the skin off her feet.

“Within 48 hours three or four teams from Birmingham Children’s Hospital did biopsies and blood tests – they suspected she had EB,” Mrs Ritchie said.

EB or epidermolysis bullosa is a rare genetic condition that causes the skin to blister. The blisters may appear due to minor injury, heat, or friction from rubbing, scratching or adhesive tape. In severe cases, the blisters may occur inside the body, such as the lining of the mouth or intestines.

And for Jasmine’s case, Mrs Ritchie was told it was incurable.

Mrs Ritchie said they can’t imagine that their baby would face a life of painful, open wounds and sores which form where her exceptionally fragile skin is damaged. “As soon as I fell pregnant you map out your life and imagine how it’s going to be. When she was a baby you had to cuddle her with a pillow,” she said.

Jasmine is one of just 5,000 people living with EB in the UK. She wears bandages all the time as any friction can cause her delicate skin to flare up. Even eating is an agonising process, as the inside of her throat is covered in sores. She is covered with painful blisters and is so fragile her mother cannot hug her or hold her hand.

“She battles with EB every day of her life,” Mrs Ritchie said.

“Living with EB makes us appreciate the smallest of milestones in Jasmine’s life, ones that we initially thought she may never reach a cuddle, a crawl, a spoonful of food, going to school.

“Every day she shows us that she’s not giving up, so neither will we,” she adds, as she calls her daughter, the “bravest little butterfly” she knows.

The couple, who have a seven-year-old daughter Amelia, provide round-the clock care for Jasmine, whose feet are bandaged, her torso and elbows wrapped in protective fabric, which has to be changed every day.

Mrs Ritchie said it breaks her heart that her little girl cannot run around like other children, but she says Jasmine is strong-willed and is very resilient.

Jasmine already underwent three operations on her throat to make eating less uncomfortable.

Mrs Ritchie said the family had to make lifestyle adjustments – such as avoiding hot weather which causes Jasmine’s agonising blisters – yet they still try to give their daughter a normal life.

Despite being told that Jasmine’s condition is incurable, the family still hope that a cure will be found for the devastating condition. “There is no cure for EB, but I truly believe that there is one, and one that will be found in Jasmine’s lifetime,” Mrs Ritchie said.

Now, Mrs Ritchie and her friend Julie Crews will be taking on a 100-mile charity walk in a bid to raise funds for DEBRA, which supports individuals and families suffering from EB. They called their campaign, Blisters for Butterflies, and are training regularly to prepare for a 36-hour walk from London to Brighton.

“We’ve put ourselves through a lot of pain and discomfort, but realise that it’s still pretty insignificant compared to the blisters that Jasmine endures every day.

“It is for this reason that there is nothing that will stop us reaching the end, even if we have to crawl to the finish,” Mrs Ritchie said.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk