My dear mother, Drema L. Shaver, passed away one year ago today from colon cancer. The treatment for the cancer was often impossible due to the ongoing complications from her scleroderma. In 1985 she first had signs of a problem which for seven years was improperly diagnosed as arthritis.

Then in 1992 the truth came that she had the disease that we had never heard of. Her fingers became disfigured as in many cases and she was unable to do normal daily chores as it worsened.

Through the next few years she became very active and was a board member of the Bluebonnet Chapter of the Scleroderma Foundation here in Houston. She made many friends and touched many lives through her ordeal, proving, like she always told us as we were growing up, that God sometimes uses bad situations to ultimately do great works.

Although my mother's death was not directly caused by the scleroderma, we have always known the sometimes fatal consequences of the disease. I am proud to say that we requested donations be made to the foundation in her memory after her passing and many wonderful contributions came in for the ongoing research of this terrible disease.

We miss her so, and pray each day for those affected by this condition. God Bless.