Football legend Graeme Souness backs Black Isle girl: ‘You would think this was a disease sent by the devil himself’
A RARE condition that makes daily life a torment for a Black Isle girl was described by a Scottish football legend as “a disease sent by the devil himself”.
Graeme Souness, who has already helped raise £1m for research into epidermolysis bullosa (EB), often referred to as ‘butterfly skin’, was sitting next to Isla Grist when he made the comments to a TV audience of millions on Good Morning Britain.
He was visibly moved while listening to teenager Isla talk about how the condition affects her everyday life.
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She said: “Everything hurts all the time and the pain is absolutely excruciating. And on top of the pain you’ve got the itch and all you want to do is scratch it.
“It’s so hard just to get a daily task done. Every time you move there’s an itch or pain or both.”
Back in 2023, Souness joined Isla’s dad, Andy, and a group of other fundraisers in swimming the English Channel - at the age of 70 - to raise over £1 million for Debra UK, which supports people with the condition.
Sitting next to Isla on Good Morning Britain, a clearly emotional Souness said: “If you witness it, it’s beyond belief. You would think this was a disease sent by the devil himself. It’s every day, just to get through this.
“Awareness is great but what we’re looking to do is raise enough money so that researchers can repurpose drugs that are already on the market that will help these children.
“They have no help right now. There’s nothing we can do for them right now. This is her life, every waking moment.”
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