Dupuytren's Contracture and the Medicine Woman
In my greatest brave self, I have realized that I need to ask for help. I have an aggressive hand disease called Dupuytren's Contracture, also called the Viking Disease. How that applies to my French-Indian genes, likely trickles back to my Welsh grandmother and Scottish immigrant family. This disease usually affects older men, it hit me as a 40 something lady climber. It is a wound adaptation overgrowth of fascia cords in the hand. The hands eventually become crippled with the fingers becoming claws turned into the palm. The only known way in the past to relieve this disease was to cut, causing more scar tissue and damage, as this genetic adaptation was to heal. So it would make it worse. Cleverly not so long ago, someone isolated a flesh eating bacteria, collected the enzyme that has about a 12 hour half-life and now trademarked as Xiaflex and used to eat the nodules and adhesions to release the contractures. Success is high and usually does not return for 10 years or never. My first injection was May 2019, but my little finger was not able to be released. I am scheduled for another injection in January since my hand aggressively now has not only affect my little finger but my whole left hand and beginning in my right.
Please take a moment to read my GoFundMe. It is immediate and Urgent. Every donation makes a difference. It ADDS UP! If I could collect 300 friends to donate $20 each, we will be a success and you can help heal my deformed hands.
I am starting with my students and friends. Thank you SO MUCH!
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