J. Rena

J. Renà

Hello! I am a 19 year old female from Maryland. I love to travel, play sports, hang out with friends, watch movies, meet new people, be with my boyfriend. I also collect model cars and baseball cards and teddy bears.

When I was 15 years old I went outside to play in the snow and realized I couldn't move my hands so I thought I had gotten frostbitten. However; I told my mom and she took me to the emergency room, but by the time I got there my hands was back to normal color. I made an appointment to go see my family doctor the next morning and when I got there my hands was a blueish-purple color. He took me back into his office to examine me. I asked him if I had frostbite and he said "No, but you do have something called Raynauds Phen." I asked him what that was and if it would ever go away. He explained to me that the arteries in my hands constricted and cut off blood circulation whenever I get cold but it was nothing to worry about. I went through high school being teased every winter and even in the last spring or early fall because the class rooms was so cold and we couldn't wear jackets and I wasn't able to use my hands.

In May of 2001 I was 17 years old and I was passing out. My boyfriend at the time was very concerned and he took me to the hospital so they could find out why I passed out. They said that my blood pressure dropped so much and it caused me to pass out. At the time my hands was blueish-purple and the doctor began to look at them and finally told me that I had Raynauds Phen. and I also have Diffuse Scleroderma. He was telling me that I have had scleroderma for a while now and that I needed to keep making appointments for my doctor to keep a check on everything. Well, I figured my life was over and everything because the guy I was seeing left me because he said "He was too young (21) to be with someone that is going to be sick." That really hurt my feelings. I began to live with it and just wake up each morning thanking God that I was able to wake up. I have Scleroderma really bad. It has made my arms waxing feeling, my hands very tight where I can't bend my fingers that much or use my hands, I have it around my mouth and on my throat. It has also affected my esophagus and causes it to close

Thank you everyone for taking time out to read my short story.

J. Renà - jujunabarooskie2000@yahoo.com