Scleroderma and the Ordinary Girl — Kim Tocker

Here in New Zealand, the festive season is upon us. Your average Kiwi Christmas in the Down Under is vastly different from holiday celebrations in the Northern Hemisphere. Today’s temperature is 29 degrees Celsius and…

I’m horrified to discover that I’ve been keeping a secret from myself, locked away in my subconscious. It has to do with my scleroderma and what I appear to have been secretly believing about it.

Scleroderma is a pretty “random” disease. I think the word “random” sums it up nicely for me at the moment.  Currently, my symptoms are haphazard, ranging from heart palpitations and low oxygen…

At times, I can become really despondent when I see the changes that scleroderma has caused to my physical appearance. One of those times happened last weekend when I was trying to decide what to wear to…

Systemic scleroderma has taught me many things; some useful and interesting, and others relating to the more difficult side of life. When the disease hit me, it was like a tornado wiped out every energy…

Over the past week, I have been an angry little person. I contracted my husband’s head cold, and my immune system hasn’t coped well at all. Three weeks later, I remain exhausted. I’ve also had…

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…

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…

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 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…

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.

“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.