Tracy is a 59-year-old mother, like a superhero comics, of course, not the cool kind of Wonder Warrior, but an ugly Stonehead.
When it comes to her hard skin, it comes from a terrible autoimmune disease, scleroderma. The disease is a terminally ill disease that slowly changes your skin and muscle tissue, making them as hard as stones. These hardened tissues can seriously hinder the functioning of the internal organs of the body, causing the patient to suffer until he dies.
Tracy, a 56-year-old who loved swimming, jungle hiking and outdoor activities, was suddenly unable to breathe when she was healthy. She was taken to a hospital where an expert was eventually diagnosed with scleroderma. This is a rare disease she has never heard of, and the cause of it is still unclear.
When she used the Internet to learn about the disease, she really collapsed, and doctors told her she had up to two years left.
She had to bear with her skin turning into stone little by little, and they would no longer be able to move until the disease went from outside to inside, and when the heart, lungs or kidneys began to harden, that was the period of her death.
When Tracy sat in the ward, she wept every time she thought of her family-she had a husband who loved her and supported her, a child and a daughter, and a few years ago she had a lovely grandson. How much she wanted to stay with them and create more memories with them, and now the disease was about to take her away.
A disgruntled thought gripped her heart, and she began to crazily search for treatments. Then the doctor told her that experimental stem cell transplantation might prolong her life. "remember, it's not a cure, it just helps you delay a little longer."
"that's enough, better than waiting to die without trying!" The treatment raised her lung function from 58% to 85%, so she was able to try to get out of bed again, and her family were all excited about her.
Watching her husband and children seem happier than she was, she suddenly realized that there might be a lot of families like her.
Both the patient and the family were in urgent need of a "hope," so she told her family, "you see, I used to like outdoor sports so much that I haven't traveled a long way since I was sick. Now I want to go for a walk while I have the strength to appeal to people to pay attention to this rare disease! "
The family chose to support her, but they didn't expect it to be 585 kilometers away.
They accompanied Tracy from Campbell to McGregor Harbor and recorded every picture of Tracy's battle with the disease. Let everyone see for the sake of family, for a good life, even seriously ill entangled she can live a wonderful life.
So far, they have raised more than 40,000 dollars to donate all of their money to scleroderma research, which Tracy says is the beginning of her battle, which she will fight until she dies.
Tracy's daughter said, "my mother's skin has become as hard as a rock, but her heart has always been soft, and the first thing she thought about when she was sick was how to make her family happy." How to cheer up families who have similar experiences with her. "
And there was something in return for her story. One woman sent an e-mail to Tracy, and she wrote, "I already gave up the treatment, but when I saw you still alive, I suddenly realized, There are a lot of things to fight for in life, and I can't let this disease take away my bright life. "
When Tracy looked at these words, her eyes were wet again, the first time she wept after her illness collapsed and burst into tears. However, unlike the first sad tears, this time everyone showed a happy smile.
It is estimated that more than 5000 people suffer from scleroderma in Australia alone, but at this point they will know that they have never lost hope.