The rest of this article can be found in the CURRENT Issue of ABILITY Magazine www.ABILITYMagazine.com
Reprint of this article was provided by Chet Cooper, Publisher of ABILITY Magazine
Chet Cooper: Regina, when were talking earlier, you'd mentioned that your mom had been diagnosed with scleroderma. Hall, along with her mother Ruby, sat down with Ability's Chet Cooper to discuss the rare skin condition and how it has hit her family close to home.
Regina Hall: My mom was diagnosed with scleroderma about six years ago. It’s a condition that affects the skin and some other organs, and can take several forms. The type my mom has is called CREST.
Cooper: You do both have great smiles.
Regina: Fortunately my mother has an amazing doctor at Johns Hopkins. I’ve been learning a lot about the condition, and I know that it predominantly affects women. There’s not a lot of funding for research and treatment of scleroderma, unfortunately.
Cooper: It's fairly rare, isn' t it?
Regina: It is. But you know, it’s still more common than people think. In the early stages of the condition, it looks like lupus. It can cause a hardness of the skin, blotching, development of red spots. In the most severe cases, you develop acid reflux because your esophagus begins to harden and swell, so breathing eventually becomes difficult. Fortunately, my mother’s case isn’t that intense, so that’s a blessing. But she does have Raynaud’s, so when she’s cold, she loses circulation in her hands and feet. They turn white. So she doesn’t really do grocery stores for long periods of time anymore.
Cooper: Because it's difficult to stand or walk for long periods of time?
Regina: No, because she’s affected by the colder temperatures at the grocery store. It’s really important for her to keep her hands and feet warm. Even when she’s just out driving, she wears warm mittens or driving gloves. She lives in Washington, DC, but tries not to spend too much time outside when it’s cold because of her condition.
Cooper: Ruby, I know you’re technically retired, but also that you still do some substitute teaching out in DC. How is that experience? There are some tough neighborhoods out there.
Ruby: Yeah, but I was born in one of the tough neighborhoods. So when I was teaching, I came into my elementary schools as if they were any other elementary school. I knew all the kids and they loved me, I loved them. All my kids finished high school. Nobody got killed or anything like that.
Cooper: How is your health otherwise? The two of you had mentioned something about a stroke earlier.