“So, have they given you any indication about your prognosis regarding longevity?” I wasn’t really prepared for that question. After all, I was just at the podiatrist getting my feet looked at. (It seems the hardening of my plantar fascia has been making…
It’s 6 p.m. on a Sunday evening and I’m ready to eat dinner. It’s beneficial to eat early enough to allow food at least three hours to digest before lying down. My plate is served with everything already cut into small pieces. I grasp the fork at an…
Life is an enigma; a beautifully twisted maze that evolves daily around us. Some individuals have a pretty good idea of how to find their way through, while others are lost and wandering, hitting dead ends. When living with a debilitating chronic illness, it’s easy to feel lost in…
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…
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…
Continual flare–ups have been a huge challenge for me over the past few months. It seems that my days are filled with … nothing. Nothing at all, except resting on my recliner while I wait to feel better. There are only so many…
There is a phrase that gets me going every time it is offered up to me. It drives me nuts. It usually happens when I am trying to explain why I cannot do something that entails using a part of my body that scleroderma has permanently…
August is Gastroparesis Awareness Month. Gastroparesis occurs when the stomach can’t pass food down to the small intestine, thereby affecting the digestion process. Gastroparesis is an unwelcome and debilitating symptom to most scleroderma patients, myself included. Symptoms include bloating, acid reflux, constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, feeling full after…
At the start of this year, I delightedly joined the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) as a patient research ambassador (PRA) for the dermatology and musculoskeletal departments at The Royal Free Hospital, London. (Courtesy of Nicola Whitehill) According to their…
It was Wednesday again, the dreaded supermarket day. The weekly shopping trip is a big ask for me, especially because it is winter in New Zealand. The cold air is not my friend. It increases the number of Raynaud’s attacks on my extremities, and it affects…
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