Scleroderma and the Ordinary Girl — Kim Tocker

The other weekend, Max and I went away and I made a brave step regarding my struggle to stay active (or not) while living with scleroderma. There are many people who have instructed…

As Christmas approaches, I always become rather nostalgic. It marks the end of another year, and despite trying not to, I tend to look back to the same time last year and note how my…

Systemic scleroderma is a rare disease. According to the Cleveland Clinic, its annual incidence is only about 20 cases per 1 million adults in the United States.  I have experienced many…

While scrolling through my Facebook page the other day, I came across someone’s post that read, “If you had to wear a warning label, what would yours read?” I thought quite…

There is a certain type of person I have encountered on my scleroderma journey. These individuals just cannot control their compulsion to share ideas about why I have scleroderma. Unfortunately, they annoyingly…

With the passing of Halloween last week and my mind turning to all things nightmarish, I have noticed that living  with systemic scleroderma could be referred to as a “horror movie.” This particular Halloween,…

I’ve always been a highly sensitive person, even prior to getting scleroderma. So, I’m not a big movie fan, as I get distressed at the violent, misogynist, and twisted thinking that seems to go into…

Scleroderma is often a progressive disease, unless someone is fortunate enough to go into remission. For me, remission is but a distant dream. I have even experienced a progression in a number of my…

There is a very good case to be made for aiming for the stars. I am all for people setting amazing goals and then managing to achieve them. I see it often in the…

Every morning I am woken early by my husband, Max, brandishing a cup of tea and some toast. My body is always stiff, sore and swollen. I am unable to do very much until…

Living with scleroderma means constant cycles of specialist consultations, and I like to keep a diary to document each visit. While updating my dairy, I started to think about everything I’ve learned from my…

Stiff, bent, inflamed-jointed fingers do not do the best job of getting my shoes on, even though I have no open wounds from calcinosis or ulcers at the moment. Grappling with shoelaces…