Scleroderma and the Ordinary Girl

Life certainly is complicated, isn’t it? Over countless cups of tea with friends, I get to hear all about tricky mega-deals tangling big corporations, complex staffing issues, and legal wrangles with contracts. My friends have full and intricate working days and deal with perplexing problems at the…

Since childhood, I have had a wonderful reoccurring dream in which I fly around a town on a magic carpet. The carpet arrives and hovers around knee height, waiting for me to climb aboard. I get on, lie on my stomach, and hold the edges while…

I want to write about a strange little topic today that some may find uncomfortable to read. I am sure it is a theme that those without a serious disease also can identify with, but I think that being chronically unwell can magnify the entire matter.

I notice that something happens whenever I feel unwell and overwhelmed by my disease and the life challenges it brings. During these times, I get the overwhelming urge to run away. There is a particular place to which I escape. Spending some time there…

My filtering system is wonky.  Kidney issues are likely the first things that come to mind when discussing faulty filter systems in a scleroderma column. Fortunately, I have escaped those nasty complications. My psychological filter is faulty. I feel as if this…

“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…

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…

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…

Not so many years ago, around the time of my diagnosis, I recall having a major hissy fit. I had been invited to a wedding, and I didn’t like how I looked that day. My hair wasn’t right, and I just didn’t like the way my…