A former female bodybuilding champion is facing her toughest competition yet.
Last November, Gayla Gill was diagnosed with a rare skin disease called scleroderma.
There's no cure, but there is always hope, and Gill is determined to cling to that hope and raise awareness at the same time.
News Specialist Jill Atwood has her story.
300-thousand Americans have this extraordinarily rare disease, yet doctors have no idea what causes it or how to treat it.
Gayla's doctor tells me that Gayla's body is basically attacking the skin, and it doesn't stop there.
There was a time when Gayla Gill had the perfect body, and the energy to go right along with it.
Gill was the Miss Utah Body Building Champion back in 1994, and always took exceptional care of herself.
That's why this inexplicable disease has taken her and a host of doctors by surprise.
"APRIL 2000 MY HANDS SWELLED UP AND I COULD JUST TELL SOMETHING WAS WRONG WITH MY BODY."
In simplest terms, scleroderma is an autoimmune disease of the connective tissue. As a result, Gayla's skin is shrinking, becoming uncomfortably tight, and swollen.
Doctors say in progressed cases the disease will eventually attack the internal organs.
Gayla Gill: "THEY WONT BEND AND THEY GET SORES ON THEM. THAT'S AS FAR AS I CAN BEND MY HAND. AND EVERYWHERE I HAVE THESE PATCHES. HAVING A HARD TIME WALKING RIGHT NOW AND IT'S REALLY AFFECTING MY ANKLES."
So far no treatment seems to be working, and most of the drugs just make Gayla sick.
Meantime, the simplest tasks have become much more difficult, from walking down a flight of stairs to eating.
"I WAS JUST IN THE SHOWER THE OTHER DAY AND I BROKE DOWN CRYING AND MY BROTHER ASKED, 'ARE YOU ALRIGHT?' AND NO, I LOOK LIKE A FREAK..SORRY..ALL OVER MY SKIN."
Her doctor here says more often than not this disease is fatal, but Gayla is seeking a second opinion and a controversial treatment in Southern California.
But Gayla says she has nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
"MY GRANDSON'S NINE MONTHS OLD AND I CAN'T PICK HIM BECAUSE I'M SO WEAK."
On Sunday Gayla will take off for Los Angeles and this controversial antibiotic treatment. It has been known to put others suffering from the same disease in remission, although it is certainly not a cure.
The treatment could be very expensive, and Gayla's family needs all the help it can get. Donations are being accepted at the Westerner Club in West Valley City.
