A brave Irish baby with a rare skin disorder has received support from a host of world-famous celebrities who want to make her life more comfortable for her.
The Irish Daily Star reports that little Lucy Gallagher from Maghery in county Donegal was born just six months ago. Lucy was diagnosed with a rare skin disorder known as Harlequin Ichthyosis. She’s the only person who has the condition in Ireland and there are less than 100 sufferers worldwide.
Lucy’s condition means that she lacks protein and as a result, her skin is unable to develop properly. To make up for the lack of protein that she has, her body makes too much skin which she can’t shed quickly enough.
As a result, little Lucy was born with thick, yellow scales and deep red wounds all over her body. The condition can be incredibly painful.
Lucy is the only person in Ireland who has the skin disorder
Luckily a local secondary school has come to Lucy’s aid by donating the proceeds of a book to her cause.
Students at the Rosses Community School wrote to several celebrities to ask them about their inspirational teachers for their book, which is called Heroes in the Classroom.
Staff and students alike were left absolutely speechless when celebrities like Kate Middleton and Alex Ferguson got in contact and wrote pieces for them.
The book was launched earlier this week and is part of a fundraising campaign for Lucy, who is still receiving treatment at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin.
“We are told Lucy is the only child with this condition in Ireland. We knew straight away how special she is,” said Lucy’s mammy Carleen.
“We are determined to give her as good a life as we can and the people of Donegal have really helped us to do that,” she added.
Little Lucy underwent an operation yesterday to help her boost her food intake, and though she’s still in hospital, her parents hope that they’ll be able to bring her home soon.
“We are looking so forward to that day and being able to show off our beautiful little girl to all our family and friends and to finally be able to say thank you to them all,” said Carleen.
We wish Lucy a speedy recovery and hope that she gets to go home as soon as possible.
