A Risk Worth Taking (page 4 of 4)

Back in the Saddle

In early July, doctors arranged for her to receive outpatient dialysis in Texas so she could go home to her daughter. Even in this bleak situation, she was elated to find Emma and Kevin waiting for her at the airport. Since Emily was too weak to get out of her wheelchair, Kevin put the toddler in her lap. Emily wasn't sure if her daughter would recognize her after three months apart, but Emma did. "Mommy!" she exclaimed, playfully pulling off Emily's hat. The little girl was surprised to see that her mother had no hair, then stroked Emily's head with a smile.

Over the next few months, Emily's blond hair grew back as she endured dialysis three times a week. Each session took four hours and left her so debilitated that she dreaded the next one. When someone asked what she wanted for Christmas, she replied, "I just want my kidneys back."

In January 2005, she got her wish. Her kidneys improved enough for her to stop dialysis. The transplant was finally kicking in. Her skin wasn't quite as hard and tight. Little by little, it softened and didn't look as shiny. "A really good sign was when I saw creases and lines on my skin," she says. "People with scleroderma like to get wrinkles because that means we're getting better." As her skin loosened, so did her joints. It was easier for her to sit down and stand up. Her knees and elbows became more flexible.

"I went from being pushed in a wheelchair to being able to walk for over an hour," she says. "And I could drive again. That was huge, because I could shop at the mall, visit friends and go on Emma's nursery school field trip, without relying on other people to take me everywhere. It was wonderful to have my freedom back."

Doctors agree that overall, Emily has had a tremendous turnaround, and three years after the transplant, there's still no sign of the disease returning.

Recovering has made her more reflective. "Now I don't take anything for granted. It's a gift to be able to go anywhere I want, play with my daughter, see her looking angelic as she sleeps. I'm so grateful to have her in my life, to love and live for."

Recently, Emily's parents offered to give Emma a riding lesson. The little girl, now four, eagerly accepted. When they reached the barn, Emily felt a familiar yearning. "Hey, do you think I could ride?" she asked. Her dad helped her mount, then she wrapped the reins tightly around her hands so they wouldn't slip from her awkward grasp. A little nudge was all it took to get the mare moving, first in a sedate walk, then a brisk trot. Gaining confidence, Emily urged the horse into a canter, her face glowing with pride.

"I only rode for five minutes, but it felt so great," Emily says. "I was literally back in the saddle again!"

Helping Others with Scleroderma

Emily wants to give back to others with her illness: She's launching a line of inspirational greeting cards at dreamonmedia.com and will donate part of the proceeds to the Scleroderma Foundation. Her designs are based on the message, "It's never too late to take a chance, or turn a dream into reality."

From Reader's Digest - June 2007

 

• • National Health Care
• • Inspiring Stories
• Family Life
• • Medical Dramas
• • Children's Health

• Living Lung Donors Save Teen
• Matt Joyce's lungs were failing him. Then two strangers came forward.
• 
• Risky Procedure Saves Baby Miles
• Baby Miles was very sick. Could a risky new heart procedure save his life?
• 
• Wife Donates Kidney to Husband
• When my mother donated a kidney to my father, she gave him, and their marriage, a new life.
• 
• Dr. Miracle Survives Stomach Cancer
• George Griffin's fellow physicians thought he was a goner. But they didn't figure on one thing.
• 
• 10 Diseases Doctors Miss
• Is your doctor misreading your symptoms?
•