Water suits 'butterfly' girl at last

Published on Saturday 17 May 2008 19:38

FOR YEARS her agonising skin condition has made swimming almost impossible. Ten-year-old Hannah McKandie from Aberdeenshire suffers from blistering, peeling skin and has to wear bandages all the time.

But thanks to a unique new wetsuit she can now splash in the bath, swim at her local pool and paddle in the sea.

Hannah, who lives with her family near Fyvie, suffers from dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a rare genetic disease in which the skin and internal body linings blister at the slightest touch, causing painful open wounds.

The skin is so thin and fragile – like a butterfly's wings – the term 'butterfly children' is used to describe those affected.

Despite her plight, Hannah has battled hard to live as normal a life as possible and attends mainstream school. However, she cannot eat solids and must be fed through a tube into her stomach. She uses a wheelchair because walking is too painful. She needs strong painkillers and her family and friends cannot hug or squeeze her tightly.

Previously visits to the swimming pool were off limits because her bandages must be kept dry to avoid them peeling off and the skin becoming infected underneath.

But now the schoolgirl is able to enjoy the water as much as she likes, with a specially designed wetsuit made from waterproof survival material usually reserved for workers facing hazardous elements.

Yesterday her mother Amanda, 37, described the difference the wetsuit, made for free by a local firm, has made to their lives. She said: "As soon as she got it she tried it out in the bath and was splashing around with her sister, which is something she had not been able to do before."

Both Amanda, 37 and husband Gordon, 39, carry the gene responsible for EB. Hannah's nine-year old sister Natalie is also a carrier but does not have the condition.