WHEN people stare, or cast furtive glances at the angry blotches disfiguring a pretty nine-year-old's skin, her mother is aware that it looks as if she has been in a terrible accident.

In fact, loving mum Jacqui Slater has even been asked outright if she has hit daughter Bethan-May, because people do not realise she is one of just 60 people in the world to have a rare skin disease.

Jacqui (44) said: "I have been accused of hitting her by strangers. Some people think she's contagious or has been in an accident. They just don't understand.

"Initially, I used to find it upsetting, but now I just think, 'hey they don't know about it' and explain that her skin is different."

Dad Tim (42), of Svenskaby, Orton Wistow, Peterborough, who runs his own consultancy company, 3D Planning, summed up how Bethan-May copes with reaction to her condition when he said: "Some people ask her, 'have you been in a fight?' and she just says, 'no these are my colours' and smiles."

Right now there is no known cure for Bethan-May, who must take constant care she does not burst the lesions that flare up on her skin, or risk a blood clot, but her family is launching a £100,000 campaign to fund research.

Their hope is that skin experts at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in London will get more funding to help Bethan-May and the other 13 people in Britain stricken by glomuvenous malformation (GVM) – a skin condition which causes painful, purple patches from head to toe.

In a bid to kick-start their fund-raising drive for GOSH's dermatology unit, Bethan-May's mum and dad and seven-year-old brother Billy are set to hit the streets for the fun run at the Great Eastern Run on Sunday.

Jacqui said: "We realise it's going to be a real challenge trying to raise £100,000. However, the money is vital to fund research into vascular abnormalities and is the only way to discover how best to manage Bethan-May's condition.

"Great Ormond Street has had remarkable success with its research, treatment and training, working with medical teams throughout the world. However, due to cuts in research budgets the dermatology unit needs help from fund-raisers.

"It is also a way of acknowledging our huge appreciation to hospital staff for their overwhelming support to our brave daughter."

Currently, Bethan-May is the first person to undergo oral chemo Thalidomide treatment for this condition in a bid to reduce pain and arrest progression of the disease.

For now, however, a simple rash could prove dangerous and the Orton Wistow primary school pupil is sensitive to temperature, and has to take a cocktail of 12 drugs a day. Perhaps most difficult of all, she has to cope with looking different from her friends.

Jacqui said: "I worry about her worrying about how she looks when she gets older. But she does swimming, dancing and rockclimbing, and goes to Brownies. We work on showing her what she can do to build her self-esteem.

"We want to prepare her to deal with life. It's about having the right attitude."

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Donations can be made by calling the fund-raising department at Great Ormond Street on 0207 239 3015, stating that cash is for Bethan-May Slater's appeal for the dermatology department SS06, or visit www.justgiving.com/jacquelineslater1.