'Butterfly skin' battler Louis turns three

CELEBRATION FOR 'TRUE HERO' WITH RARE CONDITION

- By SUE KIRBY

A BRAVE Teesside youngster who is battling a rare and excruciating condition has been hailed a "true hero" as he celebrated turning three.

Louis Baxter endures the agonising pain of a rare skin condition which causes blistering to both the inside and outside of his tiny body.

But, despite his battle with incurable epidermolysis bullosa (EB), the youngster brings joy wherever he goes.

EB is the name for a group of genetic skin disorders which result in painful blisters on the thin skin, leaving it to be coined "butterfly skin".

Louis has recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, which means he has a lack of a protein, collagen VII, in his skin. Louis' parents, Ryan Baxter and Leanne Moffitt, were unaware they both carried the gene until Louis was born with no skin on one of his legs.