I was ten years old when my mother died of scleroderma. That was in 1989. I remember her being very sick all the time and going to the hospital on a regular basis. Her skin was really hard and she lost a lot of weight. It was hard on our family. I helped my mother out a lot with dressing, cleaning herself, and taking her to the bathroom.

She eventually was in the hospital for good, and that is where she died. I am not sure how long my mother had scleroderma, but I do know that the doctors did not know much about it at the time. My mother's kidneys failed her first, then her lungs.

I miss my mother a lot. Now that I am older I try to research as much information that I can on scleroderma. I want to know about the disease and try to understand what was going on with her.

I feel for the families of these scleroderma victims. It is not easy, but you must be very supportive and patient. They are going through a rough time, as with any disease.