Hello, I am a fifty-seven-year-old lady. When I was thirty-eight years old, while working at the fish market, my fingers started to become really cold, and afterwards they would turn dark. Ulcers appeared, and became worse in spite of the treatment that I begun at the Policlinico Umberto I° in Rome, where they diagnosed Raynaud's Syndrome, until there was amputation of the first and second phalanges, which caused total invalidism.
In 2002 I went to the Columbus complex of the Policlinico Gemelli di Roma, rheumatology area, where I was taken directly to Professor Magaro. He succeeded in controlling the pathology, which had become scleroderma in the meantime, and he began a more precise cycle of treatment.
Four years ago, Professor Ferraccioli became part of the treating doctors, and he made me have a cycle of infusion therapy that consisted of synthetic prostacicline (iloprost) every three months and a day in hospital each month.
Today the illness seems to be under control and it seems like I will have an almost normal life. I would like this space also to thank Prof. Ferraccioli and the rest of the staff!
Sbirulino New email address needed 08-06-09 SLE Old Email Prefix: devincenzo_i Story edited 12-15-08 JTD Story posted 01-20-09 SLE Story Artist: Ione Bridgman Story Translator: Alba León 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.
Alba León is the ISN Translator for this page. She is studying international relations in Mexico City.
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!
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