Scleroderma Stories: How Chanel White’s Positive Outlook Changed Her Life

This touching Project Scleroderma film features scleroderma patient, Chanel White. Chanel’s inner strength and positive attitude fuel her and push her to keep fighting the disease. She’s also a source of inspiration to her husband and family and the scleroderma community at large.

MORE: Find out how serious scleroderma is.

Chanel had a normal healthy childhood and only began to experience health problems after she got engaged to her high school sweetheart. Following her wedding, Chanel started losing her hair and began suffering from fatigue. She was referred to a rheumatologist who diagnosed her with scleroderma, along with other autoimmune diseases including lupus.

Chanel’s scleroderma was very aggressive and doctors told her that it was unlikely that she would live past 30. However, she pushed on, getting an online degree and becoming a teacher even though she needed oxygen therapy and was tube fed. Chanel’s illness got to the stage where she was no longer able to work and she went through a period of depression, but she managed to rebound and found a new outlook on life. She became an advocate for the disease through blogging and her YouTube channel.

In January 2017, Chantel received a stem cell transplant. The procedure was a success, and she now has a new immune system. According to Chantel’s scleroderma specialist, her “skin score has reduced dramatically,” her “lungs and GI tract have greatly improved,” and her “joints are insanely less inflamed.”

MORE: Find out more about scleroderma from diagnosis to symptoms. 

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