23 year old Stephanie Turner has battled against the odds to become the first person with a rare skin disorder to become a mother to healthy children.
Harlequin Ichthyosis is a terrible skin disorder that causes skin to grow 10 times thicker and much faster than the normal rate. This leads to skin being armour-like and susceptible to cracking and infection. Stephanie became the first person with Harlequin ichthyosis to give birth when her son, Willy, was born and has now also given birth to a daughter, Olivia.
Pregnancy is particularly dangerous to sufferers of Harlequin ichthyosis, as the expansion of the womb and stomach causes severe cracking of the skin. Both Stephanie’s children are healthy and do not suffer from the disease, as both parents must have it for it to be passed on.
Talking about her pregnancy, Stephanie says, “I can’t tell you how good a feeling it is to have your baby healthy and happy” and her husband Curtis describes her as a “supermum” who can “do 50 things at once.”
It’s inspirational to see that Stephanie doesn’t let her condition hold her back from being an amazing mum. We wish nothing but the best to her and her family.
Mark is the Gaming Editor for UNILAD. Having grown up a gaming addict, he’s been deeply entrenched in culture and spends time away from work playing as much as possible. Mark studied music at University and found a love for journalism through going to local gigs and writing about them for local and national publications.