Diane M: MCTD, and Surviving Sister of Scleroderma Patient
I only hope that I can be as strong as my sister was.
My sister passed away six years ago at the age of forty-nine. She first was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a mastectomy followed by chemotherapy. She then developed scleroderma.
It was hard to watch her going through all of that. She had a lot of difficulty breathing, and had to be on oxygen all the time. Her arms and hands would swell up and I remember the skin on her fingers was so tight and shiny.
I never once heard her complain. She bore it all with such dignity. On the day before she died, her daughter graduated from college. I thank God that she was able to make it to see her daughter walk down that isle and receive her diploma. She passed away that next day while laying on her living room sofa.
I still think of her very often, and truly miss her loving and caring ways.
Last summer I was diagnosed with Mixed Connective Tissue Disease (MCTD). I do not know what lies ahead for me on this path, I only hope that I can be as strong as my sister was.
To Contact the Author
| Diane M. Email: Withheld by request Story edited 07-16-05 JTD Story posted 07-19-05 SLE ISN Senior Artist: Sherrill Knaggs Story Editor: Judith Devlin |
LINKS Cancer and Scleroderma Pulmonary Fibrosis Mixed Connective Tissue Disease Scleroderma Scleroderma Survivor's Stories What is Scleroderma? |
ISN Artist: Sherrill Knaggs (In Loving Memory)
Sherrill Knaggs, ISN Artist, created the digital photo to illustrate the story on this page. Sherrill lived in New Zealand. Her story was featured in ISN's book, Voices of Scleroderma Volume 2.
ISN Story Editor: Judith Thompson Devlin
Judith Thompson Devlin is the ISN Story Editor for this story. She is also lead editor of the ISN's wonderful Voices of Scleroderma book series!
SCLERO.ORG was the world's leading nonprofit for trustworthy research, support, education and awareness for scleroderma and related illnesses from 1998 to 2021. It was a grassroots movement from the original Scleroderma from A to Z web site, which was founded by Shelley Ensz. We were a 501(c)(3) U.S.-based public charitable foundation. We closed this web site and our nonprofit agency in April 2021.