The mother of a little child in Queensland, who is suffering from a painful and poorly known skin illness, initially misdiagnosed her daughter’s condition as severe sunburn. Summah Williams, 11, was recently hospitalised in Brisbane due to a terrible rash.
“Her skin was so inflamed, there were dry cracks everywhere,” her mother, Karyn Zimny, 47, told 7 News.
“She was shivering when it was hot, and itching all night.
“When we went to the hospital, she had a staph infection and when she was on antibiotics, her whole face and body shed like a snake from head to toe, the bath would be full of skin.
“People look at Summah when we go to the shops, and during this flare, everywhere we went, people thought she was sunburned.”
As An Award-Winning Dancer, She Is Currently Conducting A Trial For A Novel Injection Treatment
During her hospitalization, Summah was diagnosed with severe eczema as well as an allergy to her tears and sweat. As an award-winning dancer, she is currently conducting a trial for a novel injection treatment, despite continuing to have excruciating facial flares.
“(Summah’s) allergic to her tears, and when she’s crying, she comes out in a rash and gets what we call ‘Panda eyes’,” she said.
“She’s also allergic to her sweat, which is heartbreaking as she loves dancing.
“When she looks at all her other dance friends, she gets upset and asks, ‘Why can’t I have skin like them?’ It’s heartbreaking.”
