Marissa Dees was born with a condition that affects one in every 500,000 people.
Doctors had never seen anything like it and told her parents she wouldn’t survive the night. She did. But her skin, covered from her scalp to her buttocks with congenital melanocytic nevi, marked her in another way: at school, they called her a “dalmatian” and told her she was “half dog”. She responded by hiding under turtlenecks, even in the middle of summer and while playing sports.
She underwent her first surgery at six months old and has now had 30 operations, involving artificial skin and expanders that stretched her own skin. The marks extend down to her muscles and bones and can become cancerous, so she has had almost all of them removed. Her back, once covered in moles and dark hair, is now full of scars and causes her daily nerve pain.
Everything changed when Jennifer, her friend who had the same condition, died of stage four melanoma in April. Marissa realized she could either keep hiding or make a difference. Today, she shows her body online, supported by her fiancé, Norman, and her family, and helps others through Nevus Outreach: “This is my body, and this is how I was created. I keep smiling and I am still beautiful”.