Hope Raisers

Hi,

I am Hope Raising for the Scleroderma Foundation to help those whose lives have been affected by this disease and I need your support! 

In October of 2012, my sister Emma's lifelong and daily battle with her health was finally given a name - Scleroderma. The name is not easy to pronounce and the disease itself is even harder to diagnose and treat. Today there are over 300,000 Americans that have scleroderma, and my sister's story is not unlike that of many others that suffer from this disease.

Scleroderma is an autoimmune disease, which means that the body’s immune system attacks itself. Scleroderma involves the hardening and tightening of the skin and connective tissues. It has two forms; systemic, which affects the internal organs, internal systems, and the skin, and localized, which affects the skin. For many like Emma, this rare and relatively unknown disease makes even the most basic daily tasks difficult and physical activities like running a true challenge. 

Too many of us take our health for granted and I'll admit that I've often fallen into this category. When I originally signed up to run a marathon this October I didn't even realize that it coincided with the official 9 year mark since Emma was officially diagnosed with Scleroderma. It wasn't until I shared the news of my run with Emma that I realized this particular run should be about so much more than just a personal accomplishment. Yes, I'm running the Hamptons Marathon on Saturday, October 2nd for myself, but more importantly I'm running for my sister and for the Scleroderma Foundation. 

All contributions are for the Scleroderma Foundation to use to help find a cure for those like Emma whose lives have and will continue to be affected by scleroderma. If you would like to find out more about scleroderma and the Foundation, please visit national.scleroderma.org.

Thanks in advance for your support!