 |
| Erica and Emily Mentzer |
It Takes Two
By Erica and Emily Mentzer
Hi! My name is Erica and I am in the 6th grade.
My sister, Emily, and I are identical twins and
have localized linear scleroderma. I guess
that makes us a rare duo! I was diagnosed with
scleroderma first, when I was 9 years old. My mom
found a spot of deep scarring on my upper right leg
and after a couple of tests at my doctor’s office, he
diagnosed me with scleroderma. I wasn’t too scared
at the time because the spot wasn’t painful. About a
week or so later, my mom recognized the same spot
on my sister, Emily, and we found out later that she
had the disease too. Thanks to my medications, the
spots on our legs haven’t grown very much, and we
aren’t in pain. Our doctor always reminds us to take
our medications to stay healthy.
Despite our scleroderma, Emily and I still do lots
of things that our friends do, like play in the park,
jump on trampolines, and ride four wheelers. I’ve
even been able to go to basketball practice after
school. It’s also been a real help to have a sister who
knows just what I’m going through. Together, we
always remind each other that there’s no aspect of
scleroderma we can’t tackle as a team!
Hi! My name is Emily and I am also in the
6th grade. As my sister Erica mentioned, I
was diagnosed shortly after her with the
same form of scleroderma. I suppose our genetics
wouldn’t have it any other way! But don’t be fooled
by what you see! Although we look alike and have
scleroderma, we are different in a lot of ways! Like
when it comes to Disney characters: I prefer Mickey
Mouse and Erica prefers Ariel. I suppose these
differences help us to deal with our scleroderma. We
can lean on one another when the other feels sick, or
upset, or whenever things get difficult. I sometimes
worry about my scleroderma and how it could always
affect my muscles, but I try not to think about it.
Together, Erica and I have learned to deal with the
disease. Even though there are days when we don’t
want to go to the doctors or take our medications,
we do because we want to be healthy and do all the
things normal kids do. We don’t worry about our
future with scleroderma. Instead, we think about the
things we can’t wait to do—like go to Disneyland and
Sea World! Scleroderma hasn’t made us give up on
all the things we love to do—it’s made us value them
even more! |
