People Mistake Baby Boy for a Plastic Doll – You Won’t Believe Why
Like most pregnant women, Anna Cila looked forward to her life after having her baby. However, things took a different turn when she saw her newborn baby, Michael Winter, for the first time a few hours after the delivery.
“When I first saw him, I was obviously very upset,” the mother recalled.
Her baby was born with a rare skin condition that made him look very different from other babies. Moreover, the doctors weren’t too hopeful about his survival. Michael was born with a condition called Harlequin ichthyosis, which caused his skin to form thick, hard scales. Besides having scaly skin on his face, the newborn baby’s mouth remained open because of the tightness of his skin, making it impossible for him to nurse. Looking at her son for the first time, Anna felt heartbroken because she thought her little one was in pain. At the time, she had no idea about his condition or how long he would live.
“Recounting it was a huge shock. I thought I was going to have a healthy baby,” she said.
Not even the doctors at first knew what was wrong with him. As time passed, Michael’s parents became familiar with his condition and learned how to deal with it. However, they didn’t know that taking their son out in public would be a struggle. Whenever Anna took her son out in public, she would notice people staring at him. While some passersby would only look at Michael’s skin, others would approach the mother and ask her if she needed help.
“Michael is a perfectly normal boy with a wonderful nature; he just has his skin condition,” the mother said.
For Anna, her baby was the most precious person, and watching people stare at him made her feel terrible. She expected them to treat him like other babies, but they upset her by asking uncomfortable questions.
“I was in a shop, and someone came up to us and was staring at Michael and asked if he was a doll,” she recalled.
The mother also revealed she saw the stranger’s expression change when Michael moved. The person believed Anna’s son was a doll because of his skin condition and expected him to stay still. Despite receiving unusual treatment, little Michael didn’t stop meeting new people or exploring the outdoors. He was eager to live like other children his age, and his parents wanted the same for him. Anna and her husband, Sebastian, planned to buy a hydrotherapy bath for their little one because it would allow him to care for his skin. Since it was an expensive purchase, the couple could only afford
