I look out the window watching my brother get off the bus. Tears are streaming down his face. I think to myself, not again. He ran into my arms and didn’t let go. I was holding him tight. “Bad day at school, again?” I say.
He took a step back and said, “How did you know?”
The fear of what could have happened overwhelmed me. This fourth grader gave so much sorrow and emotion. “What happened today?” I asked.
He looked up at me, dried his tears, took a deep breath and said, “Please don’t tell Mom.” As he told me about what happened, my body went cold and my eyes began to swell up with tears. He spoke words no person could ever imagine. And no sister wants to hear.
His story consisted of how he lost his best friend that day, and how no one wanted to be around him. This wasn’t because he is mean. It’s was because of how he looks. My family may be different but we understand why people react the way they do.
As my brother told me about this story, I wiped the tears off his face. I gave him a hug. “I know it’s hard, but you are the stronger person,” I say with tears streaming like a never ending story.
He kept one friend though. That friend has been with him everyday since. They switched schools together, and will be going to the same high school together. That is his best friend. Growing up with a skin condition isn’t easy, but being the bigger person is.
When I say skin condition, it’s not something that can be treated with medication or creams. It is something that can’t be treated at all. It may sound bad, but having it from birth, it gets easier. My condition is called EHK, Epidermolytic Hyperkeratosis Ichthyosis. This is a genetic skin condition passed down from my mother. My skin reproduces 300 times faster then yours. This doesn’t give the skin a chance to peel.
It has its pros, but twice as many cons. Because my skin reproduces so fast, it heals fast too. If I feel off my bike a scraped my knee the cut would be healed within one to two days. Some of the worst things occur in the winter and summer. My skin is already dry, but the winters make it worst. My skin will crack and bleed. I get stiff also. It is best described as wearing a pair of jeans a size to small and doing everyday activities. The summers are hard because I can’t seat. This causes me to overheat and blister.
There are emotional set backs too. When it comes down to it to it people can be rude. The name calling would be the worst. The most common question is “are you covered in dirt?” The worst thing would have to be loosing your friends because of it. Growing up with this condition teaches me to be the bigger person.