Welcome to my Fundraising Page, and thank you for visiting!
My name is Rosemarie and I’ve had rheumatic symptoms since 1998.
In August of this year, the severity of my symptoms increased. Since then, I have undergone several tests from which my Rheumatologist confirmed I have Systemic Scleroderma (a.k.a. CREST). All those who have put a smile on my face—including my family, friends, and others with warmth in their hearts—have encouraged me to remain strong. And with their support, I have always lived life sharing with others the smiles they have blessed upon me.
I will be participating in the Stepping Out to Cure Scleroderma walk on Sunday Sept. 28th in Sacramento. You can join my team by clicking on the Rosemarie's Team link in the top right corner.
The walk will be held at the historic Cesar Chavez Park on 10th Street between I and J, in the heart of Downtown Sacramento. Registration begins at 9:00 a.m. and the walk begins at 10:00 a.m. There will be entertainment for the entire family; music, a bounce house, face painting, balloon animals and parlor games just to name a few. We will also have a raffle throughout the event as well as a barbeque at the end of the walk for all walk participants.
I would love for you to join me and help others like me by supporting the research for finding a cure against Scleroderma.
Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to make a contribution to my fundraising efforts. Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!
Thank you for being a part of my life!
Rosemarie
What is scleroderma?
* The word scleroderma means 'hard skin.' Scleroderma is a condition where the skin gets thick and hard.
* There are two main types of scleroderma. One type is localized scleroderma, which affects mainly the skin. It can also involve the muscles and joints. The other type, generalized scleroderma, affects the skin as well as the internal organs, such as the heart, lungs and kidneys.
The name scleroderma is derived from the Greek word skleros, which means hard, and derma, which means skin. The full medical name of the condition is progressive systemic sclerosis. This is sometimes shortened to just systemic sclerosis, as not all forms of scleroderma are progressive, or worsen over time.
The most characteristic feature of scleroderma is the build-up of tough scar-like fibrous tissue in the skin. Less visible changes include damage to the cells lining the walls of small blood vessels. This may in turn damage major organs.
Generalized scleroderma
With generalized scleroderma (sometimes called systemic scleroderma) the organs of your body, widespread areas of your skin, or both may be involved. Generalized scleroderma also occurs in two different forms: limited (also called CREST syndrome) and diffuse scleroderma. Both of these are slowly progressive, meaning they get worse over time.
With the form of generalized scleroderma called limited scleroderma, your skin hardening may be widespread, but not everywhere on your body, and it will not appear on your trunk. Often with this form the lungs, heart and kidneys are not involved. Limited scleroderma is also known as CREST syndrome. CREST stands for a number of different conditions that commonly occur with limited scleroderma: calcinosis (pronounced cal-si-no-sis), Raynaud's phenomenon (pronounced ray-noze feh-naw-meh-non), esophageal (pronounced i-sof-ah-jee-ul) dysfunction, sclerodactyly (pronounced scler-o-dac-tul-lee), and telangiectasia (pronounced tell-an-jee-ek-stas-ee-ah). One or more of these conditions can also occur in other forms of scleroderma.