Premature baby born without skin looked ‘like piece of uncooked meat’

A premature baby born without the top layer of skin on nearly his entire body has survived against all odds.

Parents Jessica Kibble and Jake Shattock, both 20, from Warwickshire, said Kaiden was ‘red raw, like a piece of uncooked meat’ when he arrived at 30 weeks.

Kaiden was born in agony with an undiagnosed condition which meant he was missing 98 per cent of his epidermis and doctors warned his parents he ‘probably wouldn’t survive’.

The 2lb 7oz baby was immediately taken away from his parents and was so delicate and in so much pain he couldn’t be held for 10 days.

Jessica 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.

‘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.’

Kaiden has since battled necrotising enterocolitis, congential herpes, dermolysis, and bronchiolitis due to his lack of skin and premature birth.

It took six weeks for him to finally grow skin, and during that time he couldn’t wear clothes for fear it would tear his fragile body.

Earlier this month he had his first skin graft – taking skin from his stomach for his right arm, and now Jessica and Jake who were only 19 when Kaiden was born, have finally been able to bring him home.

But doctors are no closer to finding out the cause of his unusual condition, and the boy’s case is now being investigated by experts abroad.

Jessica suffered with hydronephrosis – a kidney complication – during her pregnancy, and ‘almost lived’ in University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire.

She suffered bleeding and a broken amniotic sac nearly three months before Kaiden’s due date, and went into an early labour.

There had been no clues during Jessica’s pregnancy about Kaiden’s skin condition, which Jessica described as ‘like a full body burn or scarring’.

Kaiden was born at 30 weeks at Nottingham City Hospital, on 24 November – but he was whisked away by doctors before his parents even had the chance to see him.

Jessica and Jake, a primary school sports coach, said they were told just before they went to visit him that Kaiden had ‘a skin problem’, but thought it was eczema.

The new mum continued: ‘My first reaction was total shock, to be honest.

‘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.

‘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.’

Kaiden was kept in neonatal and intensive care for six weeks and didn’t go home until he was 11 weeks old.

He’s battled 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 falls 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.

Jessica said that Kaiden, who is now six months old and weighs 9lb 7oz, has never been better.

‘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.’

She added: ‘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.’