Linda

Linda

My wife, Linda, started having a tingling sensation in her fingers in January of 1969. Her fingers would hurt when the weather was cold. My daughter had been born in December of 1968 and picking her up caused some pain in my wife's hands. All the doctors that we went to see said that she had arthritis in her hands and that she would not get much worse. That was not true!

When her fingers started drawing and bending we went to Ardmore, Oklahoma to an arthritis clinic in July of 1970. The did a biopsy and told us that she had scleroderma. They predicted that she would live from 10 to 12 years. We went to doctors in Dallas and Temple. None of the doctors did any thing to help Linda. They used DMSO on her hands and feet, but mainly they just treated the symptoms.

Linda tried her best to help with our daughter but as the disease progressed she could do little to help. She lost four toes due to poor circulation and had sores on her elbows and knuckles. There were holes on the elbows and you could see the bone. I had to puree her food so that she could swallow. The prednisone that she took caused her to retain water which caused her body to swell. I had to help her out of bed and give her a bath.

Linda's only wish was to see her daughter graduate from high school, but she didn't make it. She died on June 20, 1980. She was the bravest person that I have ever known. Never did she complain or ask why she had to suffer so much. She did her best to go to my daughter's activities, but couldn't during the last few years of her life.

I still miss her so much. Even though I have remarried, Linda's memory is still with me. To those of you with family members who have this disease, my sympathies go out to you.

Wayne - whack@optic-net.com