Living The Dream

Living the Dream Scleroderma Style

A New Year and New Challenges

I survived the holidays! As fellow patients living with chronic, degenerative, rare diseases know all too well, there is no holiday from our daily myriad symptoms. The holidays can be isolating and difficult, as sometimes I am physically unable to join festivities. I am hypervigilant about…

Christmas Wishes and a New Year to Celebrate

The festive holiday season is here. To mark the occasion, check out my little “dream team” Christmas jumper video. Christmas jumper day. (All photos courtesy of Nicole Whitehill) As patients living with a chronic, debilitating, and rare autoimmune disease, we know all too well…

Looking Back on This Year’s Invisible Disabilities Week

Invisible Disabilities Week took place from Oct. 14-20. The Invisible Disabilities Association explains how those with invisible disabilities can be misunderstood: “People often ask us to define invisible disability. To define invisible disability in simple terms is a physical, mental or neurological condition that…

October Is Raynaud’s Awareness Month

October is Raynaud’s Awareness Month. It is also the month when the beautiful autumnal shades over here in the U.K. remind me that my winter “full-time hibernation” is looming. My 50 shades of blue “party trick,” where my hands and feet change color…

50 Shades of Blue

Here in the U.K., autumn has arrived. The color changes of the natural landscape at this time of the year are stunningly beautiful. This annual display of nature showing off its true colors provides a reminder that winter is on its way. And winter is the nemesis season for…

I’ve Found My Own Scleroderma Tooth Fairy

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, the summer holidays have finished. However, as scleroderma patients, we know all too well that we do not have a holiday from this diagnosis. More often than not, the management of the multi-complex symptoms makes for a full-time job. I have previously…

Gastroparesis Awareness Month: Tests

August is Gastroparesis Awareness Month. In this column, I highlight some of the tests carried out to determine stomach damage levels and the overall productivity of the digestive system process. Gastroparesis occurs when the stomach cannot pass food down to the small intestine, thereby…