Bound By Faith

The sounds of a child yelling in pain echo through the house unnoticed. A twelve-year old boy with a rare genetic skin disease enduring one of two weekly bandage changes. Skin and bandage peeling off together, he begs his mom to stop. He's all too familiar with the drill. Though this time the pain is too much for him to handle. Granted a minute to catch his breath, he takes it. They must keep going. Once the bandaging process has started it must continue. Garrett was born with EB, a rare genetic skin disease that the majority of people have never heard of, yet it affects 100,000 children across the United States. Children born with this disease lack the ability to produce the collagen-7 protein that acts as a glue to bind the inner and outer layers of skin together. They live relatively short lives wrapped in bandages and in constant pain.

View the rest of the photo essay by Andre Hermann here.