A seven-year-old boy is battling a rare condition that saw his skin
grow so tight that he couldn't close his eyes properly for THREE YEARS. Zeeshan 'Zee' Younas, seven, was born with lamellar ichthyosis,
a genetic condition which causes his skin to grow abnormally fast,
leaving him with a thick casing of flaky skin across his body.
His skin is stretched so much that his eyes did not fully close for the first three years of his life, which led to severe infections.
Sadly, his unusual appearance attracts stares and spiteful remarks – with strangers even stopping his parents in the street to ask if their son has been burnt.
His father, 36-year-old Nafis Younas, of Hackney in east London said: "Zee and his mum Farhana were in the chemist one day. A man asked Farhana what was wrong with Zee and whether she had burnt him.
"Zee overheard and for a week was really quiet.
"When we asked him what was wrong he told us he had overheard what the stranger had said and wanted to know if it was true that he had been burnt as a child.
"It was heart-breaking."
Little Zee was a miracle baby for Nafis and his wife Farhana, 32, a cashier at Iceland.
The couple had difficulty conceiving and Farhana had a miscarriage followed by a still born baby in the years before Zee was born.
When they learned they were pregnant again, they were hopeful.
But their pregnancy was fraught with difficulties, and at 20-weeks the couple were told Zee would be born with complications.
Doctors said he may have Down's Syndrome or a heart or respiratory condition. The couple were also told there was a 1% chance that it could be something else entirely.
Then, when Zee was born at Homerton Hospital in east London by elected Caesarean, medics realised he had a collodion membrane - a shiny hard casing, like a chrysalis, around his skin.
"It was scary because we hadn't seen any other child with this skin condition before," said Nafis.
"He wasn't crying and all of his skin was pulled tight. He had cracks at all the major junctions and they were oozing pus.
"It looked horrific and it was scary because there were so many cuts everywhere.
"He was put straight into an incubator and taken up to the special care baby unit."
From there, Zee remained in the special care unit for five weeks.
For his first three days of life, his parents couldn't hold him, and after that, they could only do so if they wore gloves and an apron to minimise the risk of infection.
This build-up can lead to cracks and cuts forming - particularly around his eyes and mouth - which can then become infected.
Because his skin was so tight and dry he wasn't able to close his eyes.
This meant dust and dirt got into his eyes and became infected – leading his cornea to be perforated.
Following the infection he had four failed cornea grafts and one successful graft and had his left eye stitched shut.
He is currently on 25 medications, including antibiotics, steroids and special creams.
The couple have also found a cream to apply that cost £45 for 200ml, which only lasts them a fortnight.
Zee is bathed for an hour every day and applies prescription cream every two hours to keep his skin hydrated and prevent cracks forming.
Currently, they are fundraising for a micro silk bath which produces micro silk bubbles to removes the thick layer of skin.
His skin is stretched so much that his eyes did not fully close for the first three years of his life, which led to severe infections.
Sadly, his unusual appearance attracts stares and spiteful remarks – with strangers even stopping his parents in the street to ask if their son has been burnt.
His father, 36-year-old Nafis Younas, of Hackney in east London said: "Zee and his mum Farhana were in the chemist one day. A man asked Farhana what was wrong with Zee and whether she had burnt him.
"Zee overheard and for a week was really quiet.
"When we asked him what was wrong he told us he had overheard what the stranger had said and wanted to know if it was true that he had been burnt as a child.
"It was heart-breaking."
Little Zee was a miracle baby for Nafis and his wife Farhana, 32, a cashier at Iceland.
The couple had difficulty conceiving and Farhana had a miscarriage followed by a still born baby in the years before Zee was born.
When they learned they were pregnant again, they were hopeful.
But their pregnancy was fraught with difficulties, and at 20-weeks the couple were told Zee would be born with complications.
Doctors said he may have Down's Syndrome or a heart or respiratory condition. The couple were also told there was a 1% chance that it could be something else entirely.
Then, when Zee was born at Homerton Hospital in east London by elected Caesarean, medics realised he had a collodion membrane - a shiny hard casing, like a chrysalis, around his skin.
"It was scary because we hadn't seen any other child with this skin condition before," said Nafis.
"He wasn't crying and all of his skin was pulled tight. He had cracks at all the major junctions and they were oozing pus.
"It looked horrific and it was scary because there were so many cuts everywhere.
"He was put straight into an incubator and taken up to the special care baby unit."
From there, Zee remained in the special care unit for five weeks.
For his first three days of life, his parents couldn't hold him, and after that, they could only do so if they wore gloves and an apron to minimise the risk of infection.
This build-up can lead to cracks and cuts forming - particularly around his eyes and mouth - which can then become infected.
Because his skin was so tight and dry he wasn't able to close his eyes.
This meant dust and dirt got into his eyes and became infected – leading his cornea to be perforated.
Following the infection he had four failed cornea grafts and one successful graft and had his left eye stitched shut.
He is currently on 25 medications, including antibiotics, steroids and special creams.
The couple have also found a cream to apply that cost £45 for 200ml, which only lasts them a fortnight.
Zee is bathed for an hour every day and applies prescription cream every two hours to keep his skin hydrated and prevent cracks forming.
Currently, they are fundraising for a micro silk bath which produces micro silk bubbles to removes the thick layer of skin.
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