The Louisiana two-year-old suffering from epidermolysis bullosa passed away Saturday in his mother’s arms. According to ABC News, Tripp Roth was diagnosed at birth with the rare skin disease that fails to bind one layer of skin to another.
His mother, Courtney Roth, started the popular blog “EBing a Mommy” to document her life with her son.
“He was exactly 2 years and 8 months old,” Roth wrote. “It happened within minutes of me picking him up out of bed and rocking him. He took his last peaceful breaths in my arms, in his most favorite spot. My heart literally hurts more than I ever thought possible.”
Tripp was born with just a few signs of the genetic condition, including deformed fingernails and a few blisters on his back and head. Doctors diagnosed him with junctional epidermolysis bullosa, and his health continued to deteriorate throughout his life. Blisters covered most of his skin, and he eventually had to be fitted with gastronomy and tracheotomy tubes. Tripp also eventually went blind when multiple corneal abrasions and tissue growth fused his eyelids closed.
There was no effective treatment for the disease, ABC said, and by the end of his life, Tripp was confined to his bed.
Roth said that despite her grief, she is happy to know her son is finally at peace.
“I know he’s flying high, pain free, and talking Jesus’ ear off,” she said.
Epidermolysis bullosa affects about one in 50,000 people, ABC reported.
