Radio Series

Sunshine and Darkness

Produced by: Marti Chitwood Covington
Xeroderma Pigmentosum is a genetic mutation with a number of implications. It can be life threatening. It diminishes the body's resistance to UV waves. People with XP can't tolerate sunlight. The older they get, the worse the problem becomes. People with XP have to be completely covered up before they go out, and even inside they live with curtains drawn. The disorder also creates a bubble around the person with XP, their family and friends. Often isolated, even in school, their connection to the world is tenuous. Today, that isolation is breaking down. Producer Marti Chitwood Covington reports on how schools, families and technology are helping people with this rare disorder (only 125 people in the United States have it) connect with the world.