For Ilze Groenewald, dancing is a distant dream, a memory from another life when pain and stiffness weren’t her constant companion.
Acts as simple as opening a bottle of water or buttering a slice of bread are practically impossible and she can barely do anything for herself.
Ilze (49) has scleroderma, a rare autoimmune disease that causes hardening of the skin and affects the internal organs. Pain relief is the only option for patients with the condition – there is no cure.
“I survived Covid twice,” Ilze tells us from her parents’ home in Paarl, where she lives with her daughter.
“That was bad but this condition dominates my life. I wouldn’t be able to cope if it weren’t for my parents and my daughter.”
Until December she worked in a doctor’s surgery in the Boland town but her hands became so crippled she couldn’t even manage the filing.
The disease also pulls the skin on her face tight. Her nostrils are almost closed and her lips have started to curl away from her teeth.
Patients coming into the surgery used to stare at her, she says.
“I’d ask them, ‘Can I tell you what’s wrong with me?’ I’d rather people asked instead of just staring.”
This story is from the 24 March 2022 edition of YOU South Africa.
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This story is from the 24 March 2022 edition of YOU South Africa.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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