Mother Shocked When She Sees Her Daughter Was Born With ‘Red Skin’ Disease — What Her Parents Did Will Touch Your Heart!

#1

Courtney and Evan Westlake were happily living their life with their son Connor when they discovered that Courtney was pregnant again. The couple and their families were more excited especially when they learned that Courtney was actually pregnant with a girl. The couple was naturally excited when they realized that their lives would again be filled with lullabies, baby blankets, and baby bottles.

#2

Like any other parents, they looked forward to their baby’s first ultrasound images. Every time they would go for Courtney’s prenatal checkups, they got excited to see new ultrasound pictures, while they were elated every time they left the hospital after the doctors assured them that everything looked good on their routine checks.

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The whole family was overjoyed at the good news and could not wait for the new addition to be born.

Evan even jokingly said, “I’m not going to braid her hair!”

#4

The big day came just weeks before New Year’s. Brenna Helen Marie arrived on December 19, 2011, but all plans to introduce their new baby into their family home were immediately crushed and they would not be bringing their new daughter home right away. Their newborn daughter Brenna was born surrounded by a thick, yellowish-white film. Baby Brenna was rushed to the intensive care unit, as she was motionless, running a very high temperature, with wounds all over her body.

Courtney wrote on her blog,"When our daughter was first born, I just thought she needed to be wiped off. She had a thick whiteness covering her entire body, and there was a sort of confused panic from the medical staff in the room, he was whisked out of our room almost immediately and taken to the nursery before being transported to the nearby neonatal intensive care unit."

#5

After many tests were completed, baby Brenna was diagnosed with a serious hereditary disease called harlequin ichthyosis, a rare illness, where the skin sheds very fast and is vulnerable to infection. Courtney and Evan could not hold their daughter until two weeks after delivery and daily skin treatments had to be applied on her.

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It creates a redness over the body, which in turn affects the eyes, mouth, nose and ears. Brenna’s condition broke her mother’s heart, as she realized that Brenna would have a difficult life journey ahead of her. The disease was incurable – and usually fatal.

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As Brenna was growing up, Courtney often came across strangers pointing, and even making loud comments or asking insolent questions when she was out with Brenna. These reactions made Courtney really sad and upset, especially the rude reactions they got from parents. But for Courtney, other parents’ reactions were sometimes unacceptable.

She asked "Why do they make the distance between us so insurmountable? Why don’t they take us as a positive example for learning that others look different, but it’s not always bad?"

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Courtney wished more parents would approach and speak to Brenna, rather then turn their gaze away and quickly escape from the playground.

Courtney asked,"Why do other parents avoid conversations about people who look different? What are they afraid of? They could just come up to us and ask how old she is. When a child asks their parent why Brenna is red and swollen, why can’t they just be honest and answer, “I don’t know, but it’s not very important how someone looks. We’re all unique, right?"

#9

Despite this, Brenna developed into a proud and confident little girl. Her confidence came directly from her family, who taught her to never look down on herself because she looks different. Courtney hopes that people learn how much of a bright and loveable person Brenna was, and how she is different but still beautiful. Despite the tough daily life for the Westlake family, Evan, Courtney and Connor are extremely proud of their little fighter – and rightly so.

#10

Every evening, Evan takes his daughter swimming, and important part of her treatment that must be managed every day. The same man who’d joked about braiding his daughter’s hair now gently, but firmly washes her scaly skin away every day. Due to her disease, Brenna can only grow so much hair – but dad still carefully and lovingly combs it every day. In most other ways, Brenna is just like any other child. She loves her family, playing and reading bedtime stories together with her brother and dad.

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With the love and support of her family, Brenna will grow up knowing that it’s okay to be different. Indeed, love itself has the power to transform adversity and hardship into beauty and happiness. Her parents are convinced that she will be able to do whatever she wants in life, despite that things turned out rather differently then they had expected.

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Courtney writes regularly on the Westlake family life on her blog, Blessed by Brenna, and has also written a book, A Different Beatiful, published in August, 2016. The family hopes that their story can help others understand and appreciate all people who look different.

#13

Isn’t Brenna sweet and adorable, just the way she is?