Charlie Goes Global

By Mike Conroy

CREATED May. 1, 2012

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  • Six year old Charlie Knuth will have his story told to an international audience Video by nbc26.com

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TOKYO, JAPAN--Little Charlie Knuth is going global! His mother tells us the six-year-old from Darboy is going to be featured in a documentary for a network station in Tokyo, Japan.

Charlie is recovering from a rare and painful skin disease. A stem-cell transplant gave him a chance at a better life. His mother wrote in her online journal that doctors are pleased with Charlie's  latest checkup.

Now, that he's doing better, the Japanese network will tell his story through actor re-enactments. Camera crews spent time in Darboy to document the family. "I was just contacted through email of a person who was following Charlie's story and knew all about him, and asked if we were interested in possibly doing a documentary;" Charlie's Mother, Trisha Knuth explained. "I think it's huge only because I think it's so important to spread awareness of Epidermolosis Bolosa."

Click here to follow Charlie's progress through his Mother's Caring Bridge Journal.

E-B is a rare skin disease and Charlie continues to struggle with it. His skin is fragile and can blister at any moment. "We know that Charlie's stem cell transplant was not a cure. We know it was treatment and its helped;" Trisha Knuth told us. "We're definitely not resting until there's a cure for this disease, and this documentary is definitely going to push that along I believe. The more people that know especially in Japan. We're more fortunate they're going to know who Charlie is."

Millions will meet Charlie for the first time in Japan."It has a big audience in Japan. Obviously people in Japan suffering from this disease as well, but it's not as well-known disease;" says
N-TV's Naomaichi Hosoya. He is organizing the documentary from the network's San Francisco California bureau. "We did the reinactment about the Charlie story and part of the show, we come to interview the real people."

Charlie's segment will be airing in Japan sometime this month. "Sure, he has this horrible disease and had been through so much, and it's a miracle how he's doing today. Trisha Knuth says. "But I really feel that it's his personality and his character that has made this story so popular and so important. I hope he understands that it's him that's made this happen."