A five-year-old girl risks suffering third degree burns from stomach acid leaking out of her neck when she sleeps.
Surgeons created a hole in the side of Lola Hardy-Williams' neck to stop her from drowning in the acid.
However, the liquid started leaking out of her neck, burning her skin and covering her clothes, NorthWalesLive reports.
Lola, from Rhyl, Wales, was born prematurely with a birth defect called VACTERL, which affects her whole body including her eyes, spine, and digestive system.
The condition means she was born without a food pipe and underwent life-saving surgery soon as a newborn.
Whilst the operation saved Lola's life, it means she faces excruciating burns from her own stomach acid every time she lies flat.
To avoid being burnt, Lola needed to sleep in a specialist hospital bed which costs £3,750.
However with the rising cost of living and no funding available from their local authority, her devoted parents had no way to afford it.
Jodie Williams is a full-time carer for her daughter but without the proper equipment, she was forced to improvise at home.
Lola's devoted mum and dad propped her up with pillows and took it in turns to wake throughout the night to care for their daughter, each time worried that she would have suffered fresh burns.
Despite battling complex health needs, Jodie said Lola is "the happiest girl in the world," but relentless burns and sleepless nights had begun to take their toll.
She said: "The safest option was having her in bed with us, but even then she was choking on the stomach acid and getting burnt in the night.
"We had to change her during the night because her clothes were covered in the stomach acid, and then it would disturb her feeding tubes and all the other equipment.
"I was always on edge watching her and listening to her breathing."
Jodie shares updates on about Lola's condition on a Facebook page, with the aim of giving people an insight into caring for children with VACTERL and other disabilities.
Get all the latest news sent to your inbox. Sign up for the free Mirror newsletter
It was here that Steve Evans, founder of local charity, Belief, spotted Lola's story and offered the family a lifeline.
Jodie said: "The people from Belief got in touch with me on Facebook asking if there was anything they could do to help.
"I mentioned the bed but because it was so expensive, I told them it was fine if they couldn't help.
"But then they said they could, and said they were going to help us.
"As parents of a child like Lola, we have to fight for every piece of medical equipment so to have a charity help us and get it within a couple of months made a huge difference.
"Everyone deserves to have a bed where they can be comfortable and safe.
"The first night she slept in it she woke up so happy, and it's the first time in months she hasn't choked in the night and the first time I've had a proper undisturbed sleep because I knew she was safe."
Steve said he was determined to help the family after seeing Lola's story on social media.
He said: "When Lola's mum told us about their sleeping arrangements, it was really heartbreaking.
"It was horrible to hear what they were going through and we knew we couldn't let that happen.
"We had a meeting at Belief and it was unanimous that we wanted to help them.
"We ordered the bed for them straight away and Lola got to pick out the colours she wanted.
"When I saw the pictures with her new bed it brought a tear to my eye because that's what we're all about.
"All we want to do is try and help make a difference and hopefully this will help her parents as well.
"Seeing that little girl's smile means we've succeeded in what we wanted to do."
