ESCONDIDO —— She has a rare disorder that makes her skin delicate, easily torn and slow to heal, and she will be using a wheelchair for the near future, but 11-year-old Ashley McFarland tries to stay tough.

"(I) just don't think about it," said the little girl, a fourth-grader at Orange Glen School in Escondido. "That's what makes me brave."

Ashley has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which is a defect in connective tissue that supports body parts such as skin, muscles and ligaments. Ashley's skin is fragile; her legs, in particular, appear slightly bruised, and her joints are unstable.

What most frightened her was imagining how her classmates at Orange Glen School would react to her condition.

Because Ashley has been out of school for two months and is without health insurance, and her mother is struggling to pay mounting medical expenses, her classmates learned about her situation.

She needn't have worried. They reacted by wanting to help.

Ashley's plight also struck a similar chord with administrators, teachers and parents at the East Valley Parkway campus. The school's Parent-Teacher Association has organized a fund-raiser that will take place Wednesday at Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill.

Natasha McCarthy, the parent group president, said Ashley's unusual disease and her family's insurance plight prompted the group to step forward.

"Despite everything, she is able to put a smile on her face," McCarthy said of Ashley, who moved with her family in September to Escondido from San Marcos.

Still, said Malia Flores, Ashley's mother, her daughter's spirits are down.

"She was so happy and cheerful," Flores said. "Now she's not. She's more quiet and timid."

Ashley has to stay out of school until she is out of the wheelchair, and her mother and doctors don't know when that will be.

Her legs feel weak, Ashley said.

"It feels like I don't have a leg when I stand on it," she explained.

Collagen —— which acts as a glue that gives strength to skin —— is flawed in people with Ehlers-Danlos.

There is no known cure, and doctors are unsure about whether Ehlers-Danlos will affect the length of Ashley's life, said said Malia Flores, Ashley's mother. One out of 10,000 people is diagnosed with the disorder, and it's particularly rare in children, Flores said.

The little girl's newest struggle began in February. What looked like a bruise began to swell, turned out to be a streptococcal infection and required emergency surgery. During her recovery, she began using the wheelchair.

Over the last few weeks, at least one more spot has begun to swell in Ashley's legs, indicating the bacteria might be back, her mother said.

Ashley is currently uninsured, because Flores recently married and Ashley lost her Medi-Cal insurance, a state program for low-income patients, because the family's household income changed.

Flores is trying to get the matter resolved, and in the meantime is paying off small increments of the thousands of dollars in various hospital bills, she said.

Still, small triumphs are taking place. Ashley took a step during physical therapy last week, her mom said. Since then, she has been hopping on her right foot to get around her home.

"To see her get out of the wheelchair and take a step —— it was a miracle," said Flores.

Ashley's newest passion is her service dog, an 8-year-old golden retriever named Rusty. Rusty pulls Ashley's wheelchair when she's tired.

On Wednesday at Rubio's from 4 to 8 p.m., customers with a flier about Ashley will have 20 percent of their bill donated to the little girl's medical expenses. The fliers are available at the front office of Orange Glen School, 2861 E. Valley Parkway, and at the restaurant.

"Every school needs to have a sense of community," McCarthy said. "They are a part of our community and we want to help them."

An account has also been set up in Ashley's name at the Bank of America branch at 1350 E. Valley Parkway, her mother said.

Contact staff writer Tanya Rodrigues at (760) 740-5420 or trodrigues@nctimes.com.