Shalom, my name is Dina and I try to translate from English to Hebrew. I was born in England, came to Israel with my family when I was nine, and then moved to the United States for six years. My son was born in the U.S. and is now fifteen. I was diagnosed with CREST in 1991, which I was able to ignore until 1995, when I was started on dialysis because of scleroderma-related kidney problems. In early 2002 I was also diagnosed with fibromyalgia.

For many years I worked in English and Hebrew as a import/export assistant to the marketing manager of a large company in Israel. I had to leave my job because of the dialysis, so I started a home-based business translating and offering secretarial services. This has also more or less stopped due to the fibromyalgia, and now I survive on social security.

In 1996 I got my first computer and Internet connection and found these wonderful support sites. I met Liora by email and we then got together to start a support group in Israel. Liora passed away about two years ago, and we miss her very much. She was the force behind our group, the one who was always in touch with everyone and she had great ideas for the group. We have been struggling on without her, in her memory.

The information about scleroderma in Hebrew is scarce, so through our support group we try to offer information that can be understood by non-English speakers. This is how I came to be involved with this site about four years ago, when I volunteered as the translator for ISN Hebrew Version. I have received many emails from people in Israel asking for advice, help and information. I am proud to be a part of the ISN network.