Columns

June is Scleroderma Awareness Month, with June 29 being World Scleroderma Day. Sadly, as patients we all know too well that every day is “scleroderma day.” As such, I want to highlight the importance of maximizing Scleroderma Awareness Month, and provide some ideas for how you can get involved,…

Many patients with scleroderma experience severe pain. Pain relief and management is a vital necessity for scleroderma patients. Especially because their pain can present itself in many formats, and at varying degrees. However, pain is often isolated within the patient, making it is invisible to others. Because of this, it is difficult…

It’s 9:30 p.m. on a Saturday night and I’m attempting to draw a perfect wing liner on my top eyelid, with my left-hand – even though I was born right-handed. I don’t use my right hand as much because, due to tight arms, it doesn’t reach my face. So, I’ve…

Writing about scleroderma is important. It helps to raise awareness, and with any luck, funding for research to help find a cure will follow. I believe that one of the most important sources of information comes from the patients themselves. There is nothing more real than reading…

Healthcare coverage is a regularly featured story in the 24-hour news cycle. People’s opinions vary widely on the issue, as do politicians’ thoughts on the matter. Debates rage, tensions grow, and deeper divides are formed as our government wrestles with this colossal controversy. Nestled at the heart…

A new year can bring a hopeful new mindset. A New Year’s resolution is like a magical cure for the illness known as “old habits.” We convince ourselves to believe that a new year will help us get back on track, even though we had the option all year to…

“Ahh, great, another day to spend in bed.” I’ll bet no chronically ill patient has ever said this. Living with the currently incurable rare diseases scleroderma and Raynaud’s has certainly meant that I have had to spend more time in my bed over the last 19 years…

  Being a systemic scleroderma patient and travelling away for a vacation is a huge challenge, mentally, physically and emotionally. Enjoying yourself is even more of a trial, as I recently discovered on a weekend breakaway to Aukland, New Zealand with my husband Max…

The beginning of any journey in life is the most crucial place to set the direction the path will take. Childhood is an important stage to teach manners, responsibility and respect. Even the beginning of a song can make someone change it or leave it. Diseases work the same way,…

I am currently preparing for knee replacement surgery, take two (my left knee was replaced eight months ago). The entire preparation has reached fever pitch for me recently, with a flurry of appointments set in motion to give me a clear picture about how things will…