Child Hero of the Year

Our 2011 Child Hero of the Year is Claudia Scanlon. Here is her story:

Claudia Scanlon has shown incredible strength and dignity throughout her young life. Suffering from epidermolysis bullosa (EB), Claudia has no collagen in her skin, meaning that her skin sheds at the slightest touch. Children suffering with EB are known as ‘butterfly children’, but to call EB a simple skin condition is to minimise the disease, which Claudia’s mum, Liz, says is a “truly horrendous life sentence.”

Claudia has been affected by her condition since birth, as she was born with no skin on one foot, or on either thumb. Claudia’s throat tears as she eats, which means she is forced to adhere to a very specialised diet and, this in turn has led to poor nutrition resulting in chronic anaemia and osteoporosis. The disease also affects her heart, digestive tract, and much more. The knock-on effects of Claudia’s EB on her entire body are numerous and increasing, and the only treatment is to constantly wrap 70 per cent of her body in bandages, which take three hours to change every second day.

In spite of Claudia’s daily battle, she is a normal and happy little girl. Her favourite colour is pink and she loves chart music and princesses. Her mum says: “Claudia is a courageous warrior in my eyes and only wants to be normal. She wants to be seen as a person in her own right and not just someone who has EB.

Child Hero of the Year Claudia Scanlon with Gerard O'Donoghue of DEBRA Ireland