A Colorado boy has an extremely rare condition that’s causing his skin to harden “like stone,” his parents say.
The 12-year-old boy, Jaiden Rogers, has stiff skin syndrome, and his parents are hoping to stop the spread of the disease before he “becomes entombed within himself,” People magazine reported Wednesday (July 18).
Jaiden was diagnosed with the condition in January 2013, when his father noticed a hard lump on the boy’s right thigh, Fox News reported today (July 20). Since then, the painful disease has spread to his hips, stomach and back. But as it spreads to his chest area, it could cause breathing problems, according to People.
Stiff skin syndrome causes a person’s skin to harden and thicken across the entire body, according to the Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center (GARD). This thickening can make it difficult for a person to move his or her joints, and can lead to joints becoming stuck in a bent position. This typically affects the larger joints in the body — such as the shoulders, elbows and knees — though some people also may have trouble bending their fingers, GARD says. The disease is progressive, meaning it gets worse over time.
By Sara G. Miller – Full Story at Live Science