Throughout my life, I have been very athletic. I have always participated in many sports, competitions, and tournaments. I was a left-footed soccer player.
In May 2008, I was the fastest person in my school, however I sometimes used to have a few cramps during my soccer games. As a soccer player, I thought it was pretty normal. As time passed, I started to realize hair loss, and thigh/leg stiffness.
By the end of June, I had pain in the first few steps when I wanted to walk, and I also had pain when I sat down, or bended my knees (I could no longer stretch, straighten my leg, and of course play soccer).
By the first week of August, I had to move to the States in order to study at my new University (PSU). I saw a few doctors who kept on telling me that I only had muscular tears. I believed them. However, my leg only got worse, and I eventually had to stay on crutches for the next two months.
My parents made me come back to my country, to see the doctors (who diagnosed me with linear scleroderma). They gave me corticosteroids with calcium to have every day.
My left leg which was double the size of my right leg when it was swollen. It shrank and became half the size of my right leg with the medication. I am still hypersensitive in my lower left leg.
Now, it has been three weeks since I am on the medications and I believe that there is a great improvement, yet I still cannot walk properly.
I really hope I will overcome this disease and go back to playing soccer. I know it is not easy for a person to deal with this. I would really like to know whether there are any athletes who overcame severe linear scleroderma in their leg. Feel free to email me and ask me questions about it.
Hamza Email: [email protected] Story edited 12-04-08 JTD Story posted 01-15-09 SLE Story Artist: Ione Bridgman Story Editor: Judith Thompson Devlin |
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ISN Artist Ione Bridgman created original artwork to illustrate this page. She is 90 years old, and lives in New Zealand. Her lovely paintings illustrate many of our pages and the covers of our Voices of Scleroderma Book Series.
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.