Plan B (The Inaugural Post)

Today is my birthday.

I am 43.

I am a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. Once upon a time, I was a journalist, a teacher, a neat freak, a flag twirler, a laundry stain fighter, and a birthday party host extraordinaire - and oh, so many more different things.

That was until Plan B.

Plan B? Plan B is a diagnosis of scleroderma, also known as systemic sclerosis. Scleroderma is a complicated autoimmune disease which affects the skin, but can damage the internal organs as well. About 75 percent of people living with scleroderma are women, many just like me.

I have been living with this illness for nearly six years. Sometimes it makes me feel like I am 83.

Often times, it makes me long for my 20-something self. Heck, even my 30-something self.

Does having a chronic illness limit my ability to do certain things?

Yes.

Has it changed my perspective on life?

Most definitely!

But I am still me, just a different version of me living day to day with a serious disease.

This blog will be about my thoughts, feelings, and ramblings on and on about being this different and constantly evolving version of me.

It will be about my journey as a mom to two terrific kids, and a wife to a loving husband who has kept his marriage vows despite facing my serious illness.

On my life's journey, the hubby and the kids are along for the ride. Not by choice, but by chance.

We welcome you to join us.

Suzanne