Video: Student Shares Story Of Battle With Rare Skin Condition

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COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – It doesn’t happen often but when it does, the side effects of a rare skin disease can be life-altering.

One student at MUW knows this all too well. For years, she endured ridicule for her outward appearance, but now, she’s ready to share her story of courage, and make a difference.

Kelly Benford doesn’t want you to feel sorry for her. The 19-year-old had always looked this way

“It’s often compared to fish scales, alligator skin because of the texture, you know, fish scales are really rough and alligator skin is obviously hard, too,” said Benford, a Greenville native.

Ichthyosis is a rare, genetic skin condition. For Kelly, this means daily pain, itching and peeling skin.

“How old were you when you got diagnosed with this?”

“Birth. But you couldn’t tell. I looked like the normal average baby but as I got older, the patches that were on my body when I was a baby started getting bigger and started spreading and it got thicker and thicker,” said Benford.

There is no cure. For Kelly, there is the daily fight to manage pain.

“This is a whole other job. I have to maintain this. if I don’t, it will hinder me from moving. It would affect me badly, like scent wise, movement wise, so I will have to stay on top of it like I do everything else,” said Benford.

But she doesn’t let Ichthyosis get the best of her. Kelly says she embraces the skin she is in and hopes to be an inspiration to others.

“I love my skin. You don’t have it, my roommate don’t have it, my brother don’t have it. I’m one in a few. I love it, and I want to make others, male or female, adult or child, feel comfortable in their own skin. I feel like this is something God has set me for because I can show off my skin like it’s the new fashion trend. I love it. I have moments where it tears me up but I have it so I have to show, hey, I got it but I’m still pretty, too,” added Benford.

Thursday, Kelly Benford is hosting an event at MUW to educate the public on the rare condition and raise money for the Ichthyosis Foundation.

The entertainment show starts at 7 in the Rent Auditorium on campus. Admission is $2.