Rare Skin Condition Causes Newborn's Skin To Crack

A little girl born with a rare skin condition that caused her skin to crack is now thriving. Throughout pregnancy, Jennie Wilklow was told that she had a healthy baby girl. But during her c-section surgery, the doctor’s informed Jennie and her husband that their newborn had a birth defect. Jennie remembers her husband remarking on the situation, “He just said, ‘It’s bad, it’s just bad. But I looked into her eyes and she has the most beautiful soul.’”

Little Anna Wilklow was born with a condition called harlequin ichthyosis. It is a genetic condition that doesn’t allow the last layers of skin to develop correctly. This causes the skin to harden and crack shortly after birth. “She was crying. She was in pain and her skin became hard like leather,” Jennie said.

Anna spent over a month in an incubator to heal, but now the 15-month-old is a happy and healthy toddler. There are still some precautions that the family must take, such as being aware of extreme temperatures and long baths every single day. And as her skin rapidly reproduces, Anna’s appetite greatly increases. In fact, this sweet toddler consumes over 2,100 calories a day, more than the average adult.

But overall, this precious little girl is thriving at home and with her 2 older brothers. Even though life may never be ‘normal’ for Anna, her family knows that she is absolutely perfect just the way she is. “She’s more than her disease,” Jennie said. What an inspiring little girl!