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Lille Sutcliffe, a 5-year-old girl in the UK is fighting a rare disease called Cysitinosis, which leads to a build-up of amino acid in the form of crystals, causing problems in the kidney, thyroid gland, eyes and liver. Lillie faces a lifetime of medical treatment to stop, or at least slow down the disease, from turning her body to stone.

Doctors discovered crystals in Lillie's eyes, and diagnosed her with the disease in 2006, when she was just shy of her second birthday.

The future does not look positive for Lille and others like her. The disease can be diagnosed around 2-years-old as in Lillie's case and often children die at age 9 from end-stage kidney failure. The disorder causes an excess of the chemical cystine to form in her system, which causes her cells to solidify. It is estimated that only approximately 2,000 people around the world suffer from it.

"I had never heard of the condition so [I] was a bit shocked to hear what it did," her mother, Laura Milner, told the paper.

"It means Lillie's body essentially turns to crystal. They just load up inside her. If she wasn't treated she would turn to stone eventually because it attacks all the cells."

The disease means that Lillie has stunted growth and is unable to walk a long distance. She goes to full-time school and cognitively she performs at her appropriate age level. However, she has the body of a two-year-old and every day she needs a cocktail of medication.