AMARILLO, TX -- Scleroderma patients met at the Ambassador Hotel on Saturday as the Texas Bluebonnet Chapter of the Scleroderma Foundation hosted an Educational Patient Event.
Scleroderma is an autoimmune disease affecting the body’s healthy tissues. It causes scarring of the skin and sometimes the internal organs. The cause is unknown and there is currently no cure. The disease is rare, as only 300,000 people have been diagnosed.
Saturday’s event gave patients the opportunity to meet one another and listen to Dr. Maureen Mayes, one of the most well-known rheumatologists dealing with Scleroderma.
Texas Bluebonnet Chapter President Denise Roberson said the event brought comfort to patients and is a step toward bringing the Scleroderma community together.
“(Patients) come, they can ask questions, they get to know more patients,” she said, “so that they don’t feel they’re the only ones with Scleroderma.”
The Texas Bluebonnet Chapter has been in existence for more than 16 years and has 14 support groups throughout the state.
For more information on Scleroderma, go to www.scleroderma.org.
