Shanyna Isom Woman Who Grows Fingernails in Place of Hair

What if an unknown illness cost you everything? That is what happened to a Mid-South woman whose medical crisis has baffled doctors for almost three years now. It is a medical mystery you may find hard to watch, but what this woman lost due to disease she has gained in strength and spirit. Shanyna Isom was a high school graduate working toward a law degree. Today, loved ones have to help her get out of bed or off of the sofa. The nightmare began in September 2009, when Isom had an allergic reaction to steroids that she was given for an asthma attack. Within months, she was eaten alive by a debilitating skin disease doctors have yet to diagnose.

In August 2011, Isom was admitted to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. Doctors determined that she produces 12 times the number of skin cells per hair follicle, which suffocates her skin. Instead of hair, her skin follicles produce human nails.

Doctors have been able to control her symptoms