A child becomes stone because of a very rare disease

Jaiden suffers from a rare and rapid connective tissue disorder called rigid skin syndrome, which hardens her skin like stone.

Tim and Natalie Rogers have always wanted to have their own children. When they discovered that it was not possible, none of them gave up. They did not get into Jaiden's life too soon. After her birth mother signed guardianship, Tim and Natalie were eventually sent to a distant home in Georgia. When they entered "the smell was overwhelming". They found a small child with fetal alcohol syndrome, careless and malnourished, huddled next to his disgusting car seat. He even observed it once while eating dog food in a dog dish because he had not been fed.

In the first year they had Jaiden, he snuck into Roger's room in the middle of the night. to make sure they were still there, then go back to bed. What neither Jaiden nor his new family could have known at that time was the only thing more frightening than the first chapter of Jaiden's life would be the second chapter

The problem began innocently 6 years ago when Tim noticed a small bump in Jaiden's right thigh just below his skin. He took Jaiden to a dermatologist who told them to watch him. The bulge began to enlarge. Even more surprising, the bulge had begun to spread quickly.

"It was as if the skin of his right leg was 1/8 inch thick with something very hard underneath, like stone. counter. "

In a few weeks, the growth was wrapped around Jaiden's right thigh and behind her knee." Once the hard calcifications invaded the joint, Jaiden began to lose her mobility. The family ran to Texas Tech Medical Center for a biopsy.

When the results came back, even the doctors could not believe what they were seeing. Jaiden was diagnosed with something called rigid skin syndrome Jaiden is the 41st documented case in the world, and the only one in the world currently, to our knowledge.

The rigid skin syndrome is a connective tissue disorder characterized by hard and thick skin, which can spread. throughout the body and causes immobility.The muscles become weak and the pain is unbearable!

Jaiden's doctors acknowledged that they had never seen such an aggressive spread of the syndrome. In one months, it spread to Jaiden's left leg, both hips, bad and arms. Recently, dots appeared near his spine. The hyperactive formerly Jaiden is often confined to a wheelchair and can no longer go to school with her friends.

Every day, the pain of the disease worsens. Jaiden is the first to point out new hard spots in the skin. Jaiden understands that he is as sick as a 12-year-old, although he can not fully grasp the intent of the ominous syndrome that just ramifies under his skin.

In recent years, the struggle has begun. Jaiden's treatment began with chemotherapy cycles to try to stop the spread of calcifications. Chemotherapy destroys both good and bad cells, leaving Jaiden weak and vulnerable to infection. He uses a medical mask to prevent infections or viruses that could not defend themselves because of his weakened immune system.

Jaiden also started physical therapy. This is the most crucial element of your treatment. Your muscles must stretch to keep your joints flexible. The stretching is extremely painful. Yet Jaiden smiles and jokes with her doctors. Jaiden undergoes therapy 3 times a week. Ideally, he should be in therapy six times a week, but co-payments are too expensive for the Rogers family.

As there are so few cases recorded, no one knows what is the worst case here. Although Jaiden's calcifications spread, the disorder is likely to spread until Jaiden undergoes complete paralysis. Jaiden will be buried inside him. Jaiden takes 10 medications a day, including a chemotherapy drug and 4 different high-strength pain medications.