Alana's Awesome Walkers/Donors! Team Page

Help our team bring more awareness to scleroderma so we can find a cure!

August 21st is the VIRTUAL walk for Scleraderma! I would love if you could join my team in walking or donate to show support! All you have to do to become a participant walker is click the button: Register and if you would only like to donate: click "donate". If you do walk I would love to see a photo!

August 21st is the VIRTUAL (due to the pandemic) WALK FOR SCLERADERMA! The link below is for my team of walkers to raise funds to bring awareness and research for Scleraderma!

As many of you know I have an autoimmune disease called: Diffuse Scleroderma.

For those of you who don't know what that is, Scleroderma is it is a chronic connective tissue disease generally classified as one of the autoimmune rheumatic diseases. As its name implies, this form affects many parts of the body. Not only can it affect the skin, but it also can affect many internal organs, hindering digestive and respiratory functions, and causing kidney failure. Systemic scleroderma can become serious and life-threatening.

So what are my symptoms?
My symptoms involve the skin, esophagus, my blood vessels, muscles/joints, and my left lung due to fibrosis which many times makes it difficult to breathe. My hands and feet become white and often blue when cold and the joints in my hands are now starting to show signs of rheumatoid arthritis.

How common is this disease?

Approximately 250 persons per million American adults are affected by scleroderma. It usually develops between the ages of 35 and 55, although a pediatric form also occurs. Scleroderma is four times more common in women than it is in men.

This is why I am walking (The walk this year is virtual due to the pandemic) and trying to raise funds to bring more awareness and research.

I hope you can help me by joining my team and virtually walk or make a donation so that together we can do what we can to find a cure! I'm so grateful for all of your help and support over the years and especially through the beginning of the pandemic when my medicine was no where to be found. Thank you again for all of your support and I hope you can join me walking on August 21st!

https://national.scleroderma.org/site/TR/SteppingOut/GreaterChicagoChapter?px=1465199&pg=personal&fr_id=4604#.YQXoXuQ8L6U