Hello, I'm Jeannie "JJ Knitter" McClelland, your new ISN Assistant News Guide. I'm retired, have a great husband, four two-legged children, and three four-legged ones. One grandchild so far! My family are all supportive, each in a different way. The baby's job title is "Stress Reliever."

I was diagnosed with Systemic Sclerosis sine Scleroderma in 2006. Because I have pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension and live at high altitude, I use supplemental oxygen for the more strenuous activites. I also have gastrointestinal involvement, sicca syndrome,and Raynaud's.

Like many of us I had difficulty getting a diagnosis and once I did, even more difficulty finding out about the 'elephant in the room'. That's why I'm especially pleased to be able to volunteer to help with the ISN Newsroom. I'd like to help people have good access to the all latest information about scleroderma. While I don't have a medical background as such, I worked as a linguist for many years and love ferreting out information wherever it might be hiding. I hope I can find interesting and informative items for you.

In January 2009, I also became an ISN Sclero Forums Support Specialist. In February 2009, Carrie Maddoux was promoted to ISN Sclero Forums Director, and she began training me for the position of ISN Sclero Forums Manager. In March 2009, I was promoted to that position. Please visit Sclero Forums for top notch scleroderma support!

My email address is jeannie-mcclelland@sclero.org.