Oh my god, this has put me off having children.

Incredible what some people have to do on a daily basis just to stay alive.

[ Edited on 21-2-2006 by Craig Torrens ]

Having children has put me off having children!!!!

Watching it now Craig. It just makes me so thankful that my kids are strong and healthy. Those parents deserve medals, and those kids seem so strong and well adjusted.

what was it all about?

Our little girl was born with a host of issues. All due to a very rare Genetic problem. Had to have her oesophgus properly connected the day after birth, 4 hours of surgery. What a way to start life.

My wife is an angel. She took our daughter to the kids hospital (great place BTW) 2-3 times a week for the 1st 12 months. My daughter had 18 specialists. I couldn't have hacked it, I hate being in the hospital, just reminds me of when she was born.

Anyway, she's 2 now and running round like a hooligan shouting "CAR!!!" at the top of her voice every 2 minutes. Kids are amazing. We've still got a few hurdles ahead, but let's just say I have faith it will be ok...

These poor little kids were born with a skin condition known as Harlequins disease/disorder where they basically looked like red aliens (not being mean but that's the best description I could think of without any images). The newborn photos were most disturbing as it looked like the were born wihtout skin. Scary stuff.

The main part of it Pete was about a disease called Harlequin Ichthyosis which is a disease due to a genetic disorder whereby the body produces 2 weeks worth of skin overnight. The kids have to go through numerous scrubbing off of the excess skin throughout the day, and then covered in a special cream. It also affects their eyesight as the flakes of skin affect their retina. The families portrayed both had 2 children with the disease, and were also found to come from a common ancestor many generations ago. Like I said, a show that makes you realise how lucky you are.

yea was a pretty hectic show... truely does make you realise how lucky you are not having to spend HOURS on your skin every day!

Poor kids. The worst thing is, knowing some scum bag brat at school with give them a hard time about it. That's the bit I'm not looking forward to with my daughter.

I saw the last bit of that. When I first read about harlequins, I got the Impression that not so long ago, the condition was almost always fatal, due mainly to infections caused by the all-over network of deep 'cracks' in the skin.
It was good to see that the survival rate is now much greater.
Don't think I'll tune in next episode for the 'marching necrosis spider bite' though...
Might spend the time baygon-ing the house instead.

and Pete, do you know anyone who DIDN'T get a hard time from scumbags at school? They always think of something..even if it's 'being too perfect'

Realising that teasing is, in itself, one of the most unpleasant social flaws a person can have invalidates most taunts, but it's a hard concept to understand as a little kid.
I go back and tell my chubby little schoolboy self this, when he's feelin bad!

School is definitely one of the hardest things you can through, especially dealing with some of the little bastards that attend!

I think the best thing you can do is give your kid the confidence and skills to deal with taunts and so forth, just like those parents with the harlequin kids obviously did. But hey, it's easy for me to say with no kids!