WASHINGTON - Rare Disease Day is meant to raise awareness about exactly the kind of genetic skin condition that Ms Jordan Flake shares with her 1-year-old son, Jackson.
And although Ms Flake said she was glad that her skin condition has garnered attention, she expressed dismay at the incident itself. Ms Flake wrote on Facebook that an American Airlines employee asked the men in the adjacent seats to get up, then"quietly asked me about 'my rash' and if I had a letter from a doctor stating it was ok for me to fly".According to the American Academy of Dermatology, ichthyosis is a skin disease that may be inherited or develop from a gene mutation and causes"extremely dry, thick, and scaly skin. The skin often looks like it has fish scales".
Even with his help, Ms Flake was unable to retrieve her checked baggage, she said, and she and her son had to stay at a hotel overnight."We sincerely apologise to Ms Flake and her son for the experience they had Thursday, and our team has begun an investigation into the matter," the airline said in a statement on Saturday to The Post.