Dozens of people gathered on the West Shore to walk and raise awareness of a rare disease called scleroderma on Sunday.

Looping around West Shore Parks and Recreation, people young and old sported blue shirts reading “Scleroderma, hard word, harder disease,” and carried yellow balloons to raise awareness of the chronic autoimmune disease that affects the body by hardening connective tissue.

Also known as systemic sclerosis (not to be confused with multiple-sclerosis), symptoms include an abnormal sensitivity to cold, swelling of the hands and feet, pain and stiffness in joints, thickening of the skin, digestive system problems, and kidney, heart and lung dysfunction.

“It’s a lonely thing to be diagnosed with,” said walk organizer Linda Barnes, who was diagnosed with the disease five years ago. “There’s only a few of us and it’s not well understood and often it’s invisible. Sometimes it’s difficult to share that information with other people.”

While there is no cure, research is currently being conducted at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. Funds raised from the walk go towards that work to find a cure and treatments options.

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kendra.wong@goldstreamgazette.com



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