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Premature Baby Born With No Skin Defies All Survival Odds

Rachel Andrews

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Premature Baby Born With No Skin Defies All Survival Odds

Featured Image Credit: SWNS

A premature baby, who was born without a top layer of skin on most of his tiny body, has defied doctors' expectations by reaching six months.

Kaiden Jade Shattack is now six months old, but was born with an undiagnosed condition which meant 98 per cent of the top layer of his skin (epidermis) was missing.

After he arrived 10 weeks early, Kaiden was immediately whisked away from his distraught parents, Jessica Kibbler and Jake Shattack, both now 20.

Credit: SWNS
Credit: SWNS
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When they eventually got to see him nine hours later they described their tiny newborn as "red raw, like a piece of uncooked meat".

Kaiden weighed just 2 lbs 7oz at birth and was so delicate that he couldn't be held for 10 days; his parents could only cradle him using a protective mattress.

Doctors told Jessica and Jake that their baby boy "probably wouldn't survive", and Kaiden has since battled necrotising enterocolitis, congential herpes, dermolysis, and bronchiolitis due to his lack of skin and premature arrival.

It took the little boy six weeks to grow skin, and he was unable to wear clothes during that period as doctors were concerned it would tear his delicate body.

Credit: SWNS
Credit: SWNS
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Earlier this month, Kaiden underwent his first skin graft surgery - taking skin from his stomach for his right arm. He is finally at home but will have at least four more skin graft surgeries during the next 12 months.

Doctors originally thought his skin condition could be caused by a sepsis-congential herpes combination, but have since ruled that out and tested for countless skin disorders. His case is now being investigated by experts abroad.

Mum Jessica, from Leamington Spa, said: "When the nurses took us into the room to introduce us to Kaiden for the first time, he was red raw, like a piece of uncooked meat.

Credit: SWNS
Credit: SWNS
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"There we were, two 19-year-old new parents, with no experience of raising children, and our first was born very weak and very ill. Everyone was silent, and everyone was distressed and upset.

"Jake and I cried, but even the nurses left the room and cried their eyes out because they didn't know what to say to use and didn't know how else to help him. We'd never seen such a small baby before -- and he was covered in bandages.

"No baby had ever been on so much medication before -- the staff did everything they could to reduce the pain he was in when he was a newborn.The only skin he had on his body was on his face - that was the 2 per cent."

Credit: SWNS
Credit: SWNS
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Jessica suffered with hydronephrosis - a kidney complication - during her pregnancy, and says she practically "lived" in University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire.

She then suffered bleeding and a broken amniotic sac nearly three months before Kaiden's due date, and went into an early labour. Kaiden was born at 30 weeks at Nottingham City Hospital, on 24th November.

There were no clues during the pregnancy about the little boy's skin condition, which his mum describes as "like a fully body burn or scarring".

Jessica and partner Jake, who is a primary school sports coach, said they were told just before visiting Kaiden that their son had "a skin problem", but thought it was eczema.

"My first reaction was total shock, to be honest," said Jessica. "He was this beautiful, tiny thing - and Jake and I looked at each other silently, not knowing how we were going to take care of him."

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Credit: SWNS
Credit: SWNS

She recalled: "We couldn't even him lift him properly to begin with because he was in so much pain and required life support.

"The doctors told us twice that he probably wouldn't survive, but we decided that we'd do absolutely everything we could to pull him through."

Baby Kaiden was kept in neonatal and intensive care for six weeks, and he couldn't go home until he was 11-weeks-old.

He has battled through several health scares, including sepsis, congential herpes, and contractures, a permanent shortening of the muscle or joint.

Kaiden has also fought off necrotising enterocolitis, which causes part of the bowel to die and damages the digestive system.

He's been admitted to Warwick Hospital for emergency treatment six times, and requires oxygen every time he gets ill. He's also been diagnosed with bilateral deafness, or hearing impairment, in both ears.

Kaiden did miraculously grow his epidermis back in January, but it's very thin and fragile, and prone to tearing and scabbing.

Credit: SWNS
Credit: SWNS

But according to his mum, Kaiden, now weighing 9lb 7oz, has never been better.

"He's so perceptive - he's really starting to take everything in," she said. "He laughs a lot - or he tries to, but it's hard for him because he's at least hard of hearing in both ears, so doesn't know himself how to laugh properly.

"But he's got the loveliest smile and the prettiest laugh, if you get him going. We managed to pull him through - and we're so happy.

"He's a very happy baby, considering - he's very content. We don't know how long this will affect him, or if this is lifelong but we're there to look after him and to love him no matter.

Credit: SWNS
Credit: SWNS

"Now he's very happy, and so much better after all the treatment he's had. He's such a cheeky chappie as well. He will giggle a lot when they're around and make him laugh.

"Kaiden means the world to us, and we don't think we could be happier."

Topics: Life News, Real

Rachel Andrews
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