Christmas Hampers Carry a Wish

Brisbane, Australia, November 20, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Christmas is almost here again, and this year, Darren Johnson, the owner of www.LittlePixieGifts.com.au, feels it could be a very special Christmas. That's because Darren has a fight on his hands. Quite literally.

“I feel pretty excited about the run up to Christmas”, says Darren. “We have the best range of Christmas Hampers we've ever produced. Plus our range of baby gifts is also bigger and better than ever.”

But Darren's excitement comes from a very personal motivation. He suffers from Psoriasis, a hereditary condition that affects around 5% of the general population. It manifests as disfiguring red scaly patches of skin that itch and cause pain through a loss of skin suppleness. Normal skin cells regenerate every 28 days, but psoriasis accelerates this process to 4 days – producing too many skin cells too soon. In severe cases, psoriatic arthritis can also develop.

“It can be really embarrassing,” say Darren. “People tend to stare at the bright red patches, especially on my forehead. I don't blame them – it can be really surprising to see for the first time. But it can make me feel quite self conscious.”

Lately Darren's condition has taken a turn for the worse. “I've had psoriasis since I was 18, so I guess I've become used to my skin being dry and itchy all the time. This year it's developed into psoriatic arthritis which is really scary. I'm only 39, and some mornings I can barely get out of bed. Every joint in my body is stiff and swollen, even my feet swell up. It's really painful and debilitating.”

“What worries me most is that I have a 3 year old son. I want to be there for him, to teach him to play cricket and kick a footy. Even now, when I play with him in the backyard with a bat or ball, I know I'm going to pay for it with a painful night.”

Yet Darren believes there is hope in the future. “I think I've tried just about every lotion and pill out there, but there's got to be something that will help.”

“When I graduated from university, I went to the Whitsundays to celebrate. Two weeks stress free exposure to sunshine and tropical sea water put my psoriasis into complete remission. I haven't been back since. But my hope is, if we have a really good Christmas with Little Pixie Gifts, I can take the family on holidays to the Whitsundays. My condition is much worse now, so I don't know exactly how much difference it will make, but it's definitely worth a try.”

Darren and Jo-Anne established Little Pixie Gifts at the end of 2006. They've made steady progress, establishing a solid reputation for timely service and imaginative products. This year they were finalists in the Quest Newspapers Business Achievers Awards. Yet with rising fuel prices and the economic downturn it's been a challenging year.

“A good Christmas will get us back on track”, says Darren. “We take a lot of care with the products we select and how we present them. I believe our Christmas Hampers and baby gifts are very high quality and very good value. That's what people are looking for right now. And who knows, if we can help enough people to have a great Christmas, there might be a bit of a Christmas miracle in there for me too.”

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