Jennie Wilklow's daughter Anna has a strange condition. Minutes after she was born via C-section, the newborn's skin began to thicken and crack, creating fissures across her body.
Speaking to People magazine, Ms Wilklow said that out of the womb, her daughter's skin became dry and hard, like armour.
Ms Wilklow remembers the shock among hospital staff as Anna's eyes swelled shut and circulation in her hand and feet were cut off.
It turns out that Anna was born with harlequin ichthyosis, a rare condition that causes newborns to form thick plates of skin, according to the First Skin Foundation.
The hardening of the skin dramatically affected Anna's appearance
According to experts, the hardening of the skin can dramatically affect an infant's appearance and cause their lips and eyelids to turn inside out. The condition further creates constriction around their chest and makes it difficult to breathe and eat.
While the mortality rate for the condition used to be high earlier, medical advancements have allowed survival rates to increase.
Treatment for the disease is extremely intensive and involves a thorough skin care regimen that aims to keep the skin moisturized and soft to prevent infections. Ms Wilklow covers Anna in Aquaphor, a healing ointment, every few hours.
Ms Wilklow decided to stop work and stay home with her fulltime to give her everything she needs. Since Anna's body produces so much extra skin, she consumes a tremendous 2,100 calories a day.
Anna needs to have multiple two-hour baths a day and daily caloric needs as well, along with weekly occupational therapy and bi-weekly physical therapy.
However, Ms Wilklow says that Anna's personality is always happy and incredibly loving. "She steals people's hearts because even when she is dry and uncomfortable, she's always smiling," she adds.
Fish protects children from eczema Bangladesh Imposes Curfew, Deploys Military As 105 Die In Protests "Jindal Group Executive Showed Porn, Groped Me On Flight": Woman To NDTV Over 300 Indian Students Return Home As 105 Bangladeshis Killed In Protests Joe Biden Is The Best Person To Take On Trump, Says His Campaign Wife Among Two Jailed For Life For Man's Murder In Gurugram: Cops 1,100 Flights Cancelled In US As Microsoft Outage Disrupts Operations Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.