Esmae Smith has been in hospital since April as doctors fight to stop the illnessNeil Shaw Assistant Editor (Money and Lifestyle)13:01, 02 Jun 2026Updated 13:11, 02 Jun 2026A six-year-old girl who developed a rash after hot weather deteriorated quickly and was rushed to Great Ormond Street Hospital. Starr Downs assumed daughter Esmae Smith's rash on her hands and feet was an 'allergic reaction' or a rash from the weather.‌Taking Esmae to the pharmacist, the 23 year old was told it 'looked like hives' and was prescribed some anti-itch cream until she was able to get a doctor's appointment. But Esmae's temperature kept spiking to 40 degrees and by the time she was able to get a doctor's appointment on April 8, Esmae was struggling to walk up the stairs.‌Starr says the pair were sent to hospital where Esmae was kept in for eight days as she went 'downhill really quickly' but doctors remained unsure what was wrong. Esmae was eventually transferred to Great Ormond Street on April 16 where she received the diagnosis of the life-threatening condition Macrophage Activation Syndrome (MAS).‌The mum says doctors explained the disease by comparing the youngster's white blood cells to the computer game Pac-Man, in which the character 'gobbles' up cells for points. However rather than just targeting infections, the youngster's are 'attacking her immune system' and 'eating everything they see'.Starr has now set up a GoFundMe to fund travel costs and to give Esmae a 'big treat' once she is feeling better as she is now undergoing gruelling chemotherapy treatment. Starr, from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, said: "To start with I was just thinking it's probably an allergic reaction or like weather change or something. For something so minor to end so big, it's really scary.‌"It started with a rash on her hands and her feet and she was sore around her mouth and one of her eyes was bloodshot. I thought just an allergic reaction, I just thought like a rash, I don't know where she would've got it from."I took her to the pharmacy and they said it looked like hives and they gave us some itch cream relief until we could get a doctor's appointment. She couldn't really walk, she was limping. We went to the doctors and there's stairs and every step we went up to get to the doctors she just moaned that it hurt.‌"We stayed in hospital for eight days and they kept saying to us they're not sure what it is. We [were transferred] to Great Ormond Street and then two days later is when the rash came really bad. They said to us it's life threatening and that she was going downhill really quickly and children don't normally deteriorate that bad."I was so scared, she wasn't responding, she was just laying there just staring into space. This is how they explained it to me: in our bodies we have blood cells that fight infections. They go around the body like Pac-Man and they eat the infections but Esmae's ones, they don't know when to turn off so they're just continuously eating everything they see.‌"They're not just attacking the infection, they're attacking her immune system so her liver is damaged and her spleen is swollen."Starr says they are unsure what has caused Esmae to become unwell but that doctors currently believe the MAS has been triggered by Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (sJIA). Starr said: "I just broke down and started crying, I couldn't sleep because I didn't realise how severe the problem was."[It's] really scary because I'm so young and she is my only baby and I know age doesn't matter but I do feel worse because I'm young. She was never poorly she was generally just a fit and healthy child, doing normal kid stuff and then all of a sudden everything just went downhill.‌"We had no choice but to start the chemo drugs because she's deteriorating really badly and it is life threatening. It did bring her back round."Doctors have said they are unsure when Esmae will be able to go home but Starr will have to give Esmae immune suppressant injections daily once she is out of the hospital. The family has launched a GoFundMe for those who wish to donate to the little girl's cause, here - https://www.gofundme.com/f/esmaes-mas-jai-journeyArticle continues belowStarr said: "It's really scary because if she is to get an infection in the future, will her body be able to fight it. I know we're in the safest of hands and obviously she has come a long way. I just believe that Esmae deserves a big treat after."