My name is Brenda and I have had scleroderma and cystic fibrosis all of my life.

I am sixteen years old now and growing up with this disease has been a real struggle. Trying to hide it from my friends so I would not seem different has been hard. I try to live a normal life and keep active.

It is hard to explain to my friends why I am absent from school a lot. I usually give them reasons like I was not feeling good (usually I do not feel good) or that I woke up late, but really I miss school a lot because of my illness or because of my many appointments at Children's Hospital.

Lately I have been interested in researching it and found out I am not the only one. I wanted to tell my short summary life story for others to relate to and know that they are not alone.