Meet 11-year-old boy with tragic skin condition that makes him look like a statue

June 09, 2016

Ramesh Darji can't walk and can't talk. His skin got replaced by thick scales 15 days after his birth due to a skin condition- Ichthyosis, which causes thick scales to grow on body, slowly turning him into a statue.

Ramesh's scaly appearance scares other children, meaning he has no friends and he can barely talk, only letting his parents know when he is hungry or needs the bathroom

His 36 year old dad, Nanda told MailOnline: ‘His skin started peeling off 15 days after he was born and then new skin began to grow very thick.

'It hardened and turned black, we had no idea what to do about it. No one helped us.'
In fact, doctors in Baglung, the remote Nepalese region where the family live, seemed bemused by what they told them was a 'fungal infection' and said they couldn't help.
All the while, Ramesh was getting worse.

‘By this fifth birthday he began to say his body was in pain and he couldn’t walk,' said Nanda. 'He’s never really been able to explain anything to us either.
'He is only able to inform us when he’s hungry or wants to use the toilet. He used to sit and cry but we didn’t know what was hurting him or how to help him.

‘Any young child would see him and run away crying. It was hard for him and us to watch.’

‘We took him to a few doctors in our district but we were told that treatment was costly and only available in private hospitals.

'We did not have enough money and had no choice than to keep Ramesh home and do our best.’
But then help came from an unexpected source - British singer Joss Stone.
Ramesh's luck changed when a video of him struggling was shared on social media - and it was spotted by Nepalese singer Sanjay Shrestha, who happened to be helping Stone organise a concert.
‘I got an email from Joss’ team saying they wanted to perform here and said they wanted to support a local charity.
'In the meantime, I saw a video on social media about this poor boy so I sent them the link and she immediately decided to help him.’

Nanda said: ‘We’ve never known how to help him.
'His mother spends the entire day with him, which makes it difficult for her to focus on our other kids.
'She cannot work either and she used to cry alone feeling bad for him.’
Ramesh is now receiving treatment at the Kathmandu Medical College