CREEDE— Maren Stecken, a kindergartener at the Creede School will be featured in an NBC 9News story about rare diseases in schools on Feb. 28.

Maren is your regular every day child with a small difference that can’t be detected by her fellow students, and the staff at the Creede school are working hard everyday to ensure that stays the case. “Maren was teased a lot in her last school and was even asked to leave the classroom because of her disease. We are working very hard to help Maren have a regular school experience here at Creede and so far, she is doing amazing,” said Superintendent Lis Richard.

Maren has what is called Propionic Acidemia or PA for short. According to the online description of the disease it states, “The disorder presents in the early neonatal period with progressive encephalopathy. Death can occur quickly, due to secondary hyperammonemia, infection, cardiomyopathy or basal ganglial stroke. Propionic acidemia is a rare disorder that is inherited from both parents. Being autosomal recessive, neither parent shows symptoms, but both carry a defective gene responsible for this disease. It takes two faulty genes to cause PA, so there is a one in four chance for these parents to have a child with PA.”

“We want Maren to have a normal school experience and to help manage the symptoms of the disease as best we can. She is such a cutie and we are happy to have her with us,” finished Richard.

The disease causes the individual to produce a strong body odor that can be offensive to those around them. “The main reason Maren is being recognized for her disease is due to the fact that her mother, Honey Stecken, found a new product that helps her with the body odor that comes from her body not being able to break down enzymes. The deodorant called Zome is new on the market and has helped make her school experience manageable,” said Richard.

Staff at the school work closely with Maren’s mother, who stays in continuous contact with the school nurse, Shannon Goldsberry. “We are in contact all-day long. I keep very close track of students who are in her class that may be sick because of Maren’s weak immune system and let her mom know right away to keep her healthy. She has to have specific foods, which the cafeteria prepares for her specially when she eats at school. It’s a partnership that is making her school experience the best it can be,” said Goldsberry.

“The Creede school has a special advantage over others because it is so small and like a family. Maren’s past experience with previous schools wasn’t so great, and we will do what we can to make it special for her,” continued Goldsberry.

Honey has expressed her gratitude for the school and their staff for helping to make Maren’s school experience a happy one, stating that the 9News feature will include a statement from the child about the friends she has made in her time there. “Our family is so thankful to the Creede school, John Goss and Lis Richard for providing such wonderful support,” wrote Stecken.

The story was aired on 9News as part of a feature on World Rare Disease Day on Feb. 28.