The baby’s skin started to tear and became rock hard after the mother’s emergency caesarean.

When a couple is expecting a child, they are excited and anxious. They are often excited but nervous about what is to come.

In most cases, a baby is born safely—but in some cases, the unthinkable happens.

Jennie Wilklow’s pregnancy experience had been mostly normal.

Her baby looked fine on all scans and she and her husband were eagerly awaiting the birth of their baby girl.

But then, at 34 weeks into Jennie’s pregnancy, complications led to an emergency C-section being required.

Jennie’s daughter started crying right after she was born and the nurses smiled and said she was beautiful.

Then, within seconds, the mood of the room changed completely.

Jennie’s daughter’s skin began to change and became completely hard.

The tough skin began to tear and the poor baby was soon completely covered in open sores.

Doctors rushed to reassure Jennie that they would do whatever they could to help her baby, and the new mother was then sedated so she could sleep.

When she woke up, the doctors shared what they had found. Their daughter Anna suffered from a rare condition known as Harlequin Ichthyosis.

Jennie turned to her husband and he was completely silent for a few moments before frantically repeating, “This is bad.”

Harlequin ichthyosis is a type of genetic defect that causes skin to grow about 14 times faster than it should.

It can affect facial features such as the mouth, nose, eyes, and ears, and causes widespread redness all over the body.

Even more tragic, most babies born with this condition die within a few days.

The good news was that those who survive the crucial early days of life will continue to have a normal life expectancy, although their lives may be riddled with potential complications.

They may have delayed motor skill development and experience more difficulties as life progresses.

For the next two days, Jennie read everything she could about Anna’s condition.

She realized that little Anna would experience a poor quality of life and face many challenges in her life.

In that moment of confusion, pain, and loneliness, Jennie couldn’t help but wonder if her daughter would be better off if she didn’t survive.

Thankfully, those moments passed, and soon Anna was on the road to recovery.

She survived the horrific ordeal and was able to return home with her mother and father.

It was a difficult time and Anna had to be greased with petroleum jelly every two hours and bathed many, many hours a day.

Anna proved to be a strong fighter and completely changed Jennie’s thoughts and perspective.

Jennie realized that she couldn’t create mental limitations in her mind about what Anna could and couldn’t achieve in her life, or else she might never reach her full potential.

Jennie set new goals for herself and Anna – and that goal was for Anna to be able to do whatever she wanted and for Jennie to be with her and do the same!

Together this family will conquer the world!