(English) by First Name: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V-Z

By Language: French   German   Greek   Italian   Polish   Romanian   Russian   Spanish   Turkish

Joe Joe: Morphea

Sweden

I was diagnosed with morphea in December 2006. I have it on my feet, legs, thighs, hands, arms and stomach.

Because such a large area of my body is attacked my doctors believe that my internal organs are also affected. But after many tests and three specialists had examined me they concluded that it was morphea.

In the beginning when I became ill it was very difficult for me to move and everyday was a struggle. Almost all my hair fell out and I lost 10 kg in weight.

Now, seven months later, my skin is still hard and thick, but it is much better than before.

My doctor prescribed PUVA light treatment and that has helped me a lot. My hair is growing back and I have put on some weight again.

Now I wonder if there is someone else who also has a very large body area affected, because the Swedish specialists say that they have never seen anything like this.

To Contact the Author

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 is the world's leading nonprofit for trustworthy research, support, education and awareness for scleroderma and related illnesses. We are a 501(c)(3) U.S.-based public charitable foundation, established in 2002. Meet Our Team. Donations may also be mailed to: