Parents' Plea: Help Our Son Before He Turns to Stone

The parents of a boy with an incredibly rare disease say they've run out of money and options and are asking for the public's help. Tim and Natalie Rogers of Alamosa, Colorado, say their 12-year-old son, Jaiden, is essentially turning to stone because of a condition called stiff skin syndrome, reports People. "It's like tapping on a countertop," Natalie Rogers has previously said of her son's skin in places. Only a few dozen people have ever been diagnosed with the syndrome since it was discovered in the 1970s, according to the clinical geneticist treating Jaiden at Children's Hospital Colorado.

As WSMV notes, the condition causes the entire body to harden and will eventually lead to immobility. Jaiden's parents, however, are now hoping to get him into a treatment program currently unavailable in the US. They want to fly him to Europe to undergo a stem cell treatment for rare skin diseases, according to a GoFundMe page dedicated to raising $1.5 million. "If we can't raise the money to save Jaiden, we are left with nothing to do for him," wrote the couple. The fund had raised about $77,000 as of Saturday. (This rare disease was for the first time diagnosed in a female.)