Trent Butcher here.  The kid with the paper-thin skin, the kid people call "Paper Boy".

Yeah, that's me.  I have a condition known as EB, which causes big blisters to pop out on my skin if any friction is applied to it.  Even something as minor as a touch, a kiss, or a hug, or even a heavy shirt pressing against my skin can cause painful, angry looking blisters that can ooze blood or pus.  It's really gross, but it's my life, and I'm the one who has to put up with it.

To keep my skin moist, I put lotion, special medicated creams on it, or I bandage up the open areas, so I look like a mummy.  When I'm outside, I wear long sleeves to further protect me, and a hat, to cover my head.  I don't sweat easily, and if I do, I itch.  Terribly.  Horrendously.  It's really a pain (literally, in my case!).

Now, three of my brothers have it; the fourth doesn't.  He's the only one who can act like a normal kid, and I get jealous of him sometimes.  I wish I were more like him; I am getting tired of having to take precautions, worrying about whether I'm going to end up in the hospital again witih another danged infection or having to go to doctors on a regular basis.

This summer has been rough on me.  It's been hot.  Heat makes me itch all the more; more reasons to stay in, holed up in my room (I call it "The Tomb" because that's what it feels like sometimes).  When I'm in "The Tomb", I try to scare up interesting things to do, like looking up scientific facts or play games on the computer, write stories (mostly about my experiences with EB), read, play basketball (have a basketball net set up in my room; I shoot small Nerf basketballs in the hoop, to try to improve on my game), or watch tv (mainly Cartoon Network or Nickolodeon).

The rainy days are the worst.  I get bored, restless easily, and this is when I crawl into bed, try to sleep the day away.  Sometimes it's because I'm itching, hurting too bad, and somehow sleep makes it feel better, go away, even if only for a little while.

Any relief is better than none. 

I haven't met any other kids with my condition other than my brothers.  Sometimes we feel like strangers on a lonely planet because we feel like we're the only ones who have to deal with this awful skin condition.  I wouldn't wish this stuff on anybody; it's really bad, hard to put up with sometimes!

Well, mom is calling; she wants me to help clean up after the brothers; they made a mess out of the garage.  Wonderful; more work, more sweating.  UCH!!  And it's so hot out!!  GAD!!  I will write in here again another day; until then, this is Trent signing off!

~Trent Shawn Butcher, 10 years old.