Scleroderma Awareness Month 2020

June is Scleroderma Awareness Month with the 29th June marking World Scleroderma Day. You can head to the Scleroderma registered charity SRUK to find out more about this right here.

Each and every single day, however, is important for all of us suffering from Scleroderma.

We are always fighting for our voices to be heard and to raise awareness for all of the illnesses, visible and invisible.

This June I will be focusing on ways I manage my illness from a holistic perspective. This includes essential oils, creams, and teas I enjoy to help me to manage the symptoms outside of my strict medication system.

Firstly, the hashtag for June is #KnowScleroderma. So with that:

What is Scleroderma?

Scleroderma, is a rare, chronic disease of the immune system, blood vessels & connective tissue and affects 2.5 million people worldwide with sadly no cure.

There are a few variations of Scleroderma. These include: Localised Scleroderma, Limited Scleroderma and Diffuse Scleroderma.

I have limited systemic sclerosis meaning that the excess of collagen causes scarring & stops the affected parts of the body such as the heart, oesophagus, blood vessels, kidneys, lungs, blood pressure & digestive system from functioning normally. You can read all about my journey with my symptoms and my diagnosis here.

Currently, it’s estimated that 2.5 million people are living worldwide with Scleroderma, including 19,000 in the UK, with 1,300 being diagnosed every year.

This month, SRUK is calling on people to #KnowScleroderma better in a bid to both help people with the symptoms find the resources they need, and help friends and family support those that are suffering from this truly cruel disease. 

How You Can Help Support Me During Scleroderma Month

For me, to accept that modern medicine cannot restore you and that there is no cure is an ongoing grieving process. It can also be exhausting to raise awareness for chronic illnesses.

In May of this year, I wrote a post really leaning in the depth of my vulnerability to share the effect living with Scleroderma, and other illnesses, has on my mental health. You can read this post here.

Any help you can lend to me and other Scleroderma sufferers this month means more than words can express.

So how can you help this very important day? Firstly, it would mean so much if you could share this post you’re reading or any of the posts from my Scleroderma series you can find below. This small gesture is so powerful.

Beyond this, this post contains all the symptoms I had before I had my Scleroderma diagnosis. Do you recognise any of these in either yourself or your loved ones? If so please help yourself or others by directing them to help.

You can also help me by supporting my Depop shop. All money raised from items sold here is sent to SRUK. The link is right here and I update it as often as possible.

Finally: Thank you. Just so, so much. Thank you for taking the time to read this and engage in any way you can.

I sincerely love each and every one of you so very much and your constant love and support here is the strength that I will use to create impossible things. 

Read my Scleroderma Blog Posts here

Head to SRUK here