A 1-year-old British child suffers from a rare condition that makes his sleep a terrifying threat to his life.
Charlie Wagstaff was infected with congenital central tingling syndrome, or "the undead curse," a rare disease that has infected only 1,000 people around the world.
The disease affects the way the central nervous system controls the breathing process, making it necessary for the child to wear a mask attached to an artificial respiration device every time he or she falls asleep.
In this disease, the central nervous system of Charlie fails to properly regulate his breathing when he sleeps, which means he does not respond to increased levels of carbon dioxide in the blood, which would stimulate the healthy person to take the breath.
Since Charlie was discharged from hospital at the age of 4 months, his caregivers must carefully monitor the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in his blood every time he sleeps.
Friends of the Charlie family launched an e-mail to raise money to buy a new mask made specifically to suit Charlie's face, as his current mask stops the development of his face, leaving small head abnormalities, the Daily Mail reported.
The goal was to raise the amount that Charlie could travel with his parents to Denmark, where doctors will develop a mask that allows his face to grow normally, but the campaign has managed to raise a larger amount of money than expected.
