Except this is not fiction, but the true story of what an extraordinary Arundel woman has done to improve the life of a 13-year-old child.

Mum-of-three Melanie Williams was contacted by charity Children of Vietnam who told her there was a boy with a rare skin condition living in Vietnam.

They said it had left him looking as if he had been severely burnt, with a thick, scaly appearance, and asked if Melanie could try to find him.

Melanie said: "It was pot luck that we would even find the boy because they told us he was somewhere in Ho Chi Minh City.

"Incredibly we managed to find him. When we arrived at the hospital and saw Min Anh for the first time it was quite a shocking sight.

"His hands and feet were bound to the bed and it looked like he was covered in layer upon layer of thick skin. I thought to myself I have to do whatever I can to help that little boy."

Melanie, 37, went to Vietnam with her sister-in-law Anna Lovell-Knight, also 37, who lives in Hong Kong.

They arrived at the very basic hospital at 5am in darkness and in the middle of a monsoon and were greeted by a crowd of orphaned children who had some horrific disabilities.

Melanie, who spent two years as a St Richard's Hospital children's nurse, said: "The children were all abandoned because they have no limbs or no eyes or are very disfigured. We think they are all victims of the defoliant Agent Orange after being exposed to it because of the Vietnam war.

"It was one of the most horrific things I'd ever seen in my life."
Every day for a week Melanie and Anna spent time with Min Anh, who has a rare genetic skin disorder called Ichthyosis.

She added: "We completely scrubbed his body, it wasn't pleasant but the look on his face, the relief when the skin started coming off, it was amazing to watch him.

"We took off as much of the dead skin as possible and then covered him in aqueous cream."

Melanie said during their visit they had thought Min Anh had been tied to his bed and a chair by the hospital staff to stop him from scratching himself – but at the end of the week they realised he was actually tying himself up.

"We couldn't quite believe what we were seeing. He just started tying himself up and he has clearly been doing it for years.

"To him it is normal. The orphanage probably used to do it to him and then when they gave up on him and moved him to the hospital he just continued to do it himself."

By the time the pair left, there had been a noticeable improvement in Min Anh's skin. In parts, the colour and texture was similar to the way it should look normally.

With simple treatment, including having a twice-daily bath, being scrubbed and covered in cream, he can lead a fairly normal life, although Melanie thinks he may also be autistic.

She said: "He doesn't need to be strapped in a chair, he can have his life back again."

Melanie and Anna are trying to raise money for Min Anh's ward at the hospital which they have called Forget Me Not.

"To us it seemed like they were the forgotten children and we want to help them. It was very hard leaving Vietnam and knowing they are still there, but we can potentially change their lives and we will keep trying until we do."

Melanie, who is about to start a job at Chestnut Tree House Children's Hospice, is now trying to raise awareness of the condition and is appealing for chemists and large firms to donate aqueous creams which can be given to the Vietnamese hospital.

She is also trying to raise money to improve the hospital facilities.
She added: "I want to go back to see Min Anh in the new year. We plan to re-decorate the hospital, add some new equipment and toys for the children.

"Above all, I want to raise awareness for this boy who without further treatment will continue to suffer."


What do you think? Send a letter to news@chiobserver.co.uk or leave a comment below.

Click here to go back to Chichester news

Click here to go back to Bognor Regis news

Click here to go back to Midhurst and Petworth news

To tell us where in the world you are reading this story click here to add yourself to our readers' map.