Callan is 44 years old & his body is turning to stone. Scleroderma is hardening his skin & internal organs to the point they no longer work
Auckland
**PLEASE REFER TO UPDATE TAB**
Callan is just 44 years old and his body is turning to stone. Callan is living with a rare condition called Scleroderma which is progressively hardening his skin, restricting his movement. It’s also hardening his internal organs causing permanent damage and affecting their ability to perform. Scleroderma will take Callan’s life. Scleroderma has no known cause and no cure.
Scleroderma is a rare auto immune disease where the body produces too much collagen. Collagen is needed for the body to survive. If a healthy person injures themselves, collagen will be laid down in the form of scar tissue, however, in the case of Scleroderma, the immune system attacks healthy tissue & lays down collagen causing fibrosis (hardening). In severe cases such as Callan’s excess collagen affects internal organs, eventually rendering the affected organs useless. In the period of just two years Callan has gone from a fit and strong young man working as a stone mason to living in the nursing wing of a rest home. His skin has tightened to the point he can no longer feed himself and needs assistance with all facets of daily existence. Because his skin has become so tight and thickened ulcers have broken out on all of his joints and his tail bone. These probably will not heal and are extremely painful. His internal organs have been affected to the point that many are not functioning as they should causing him endless pain and discomfort. As this is a progressive condition Callan will not be recovering.
Callan is currently being assisted by an RSA volunteer, which is fantastic especially as he has little family contact. Unfortunately this caregiver has to dip into his own pocket in order to help Callan with everyday living. This is where we need your help please. It is unacceptable that a volunteer caregiver needs to use his own funds to care for someone in such a condition. This also extends to transport to and from the hospital for specialist medical appointments. As Callan is in constant discomfort and pain and is now unable to sit upright for extended periods of time due to the tightness of his skin he now requires an ambulance just to attend hospital appointments.
As previously mentioned Callan has a progressive condition and will not be recovering. You can help Callan by simply making a small donation. All donations will go towards providing for his daily care as we aim to make what little time he has left as comfortable as possible. Scleroderma has no known cause, and no cure.
We are involved as we are a newly formed support group (non profit organisation) of fellow people living with Scleroderma. Callan is one of our support group members who has the most severe form of this condition. As he is now too ill to attend our meetings we want to support him and his caregiver in any way we still can.
Scleroderma Auckland is a chapter group of Scleroderma NZ Inc.
Scleroderma Auckland’s mission is to provide a supportive and educational forum for those living with Scleroderma and its related conditions. To educate our members about their condition to empower them to make informed decisions regarding their own health care. We hold regular support group meetings every couple of months and some of these meetings will include speakers from within the medical profession. We also aim to raise awareness of this rare disease in the wider community.
Currently we do not receive any funding which is why we need your help.
Join us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/sclero.akl
Contact us at sclero.akl@gmail.com
All donations will go towards providing for Callan’s daily care as we aim to make the rest of the time he has left as comfortable as possible. Should there be any money left over, it will go back to the support group to assist others with this disease.
Update on Callan 17 November 2017
It is with great sadness we inform you all that Callan has lost his battle with Scleroderma. This happened much sooner than we expected. Our thoughts are with Callan’s family and friends.
We have not yet received any funds from givealittle from the donations already made.
If we do receive any money we intend to use some of the funds to contribute towards Callan’s funeral costs.
Some money was spent on Callan in the way of a care package. These expenses will also be reimbursed once any funds come through.
Any balance remaining will be invested by Scleroderma Auckland in a fund to help others living with Scleroderma, as requested by Callan.
We believe that donors are now able to request a refund if they wish to, therefore we are unable to make any firm commitments until the request period has elapsed and any possible funds from givealittle are received. This is a givealittle policy and out of our hands.
Every time we visited Callan he would say he was planning on coming to the Scleroderma Auckland Christmas party. On Tuesday when we visited, we decided to wrap up all the items we had for him in Christmas paper and put on silly hats to give him an early Christmas – still expecting that he would be coming to our Christmas party in December. He was so excited, which leaves us with happy memories. We, along with Ray, also read him some of the many messages and emails he had received. He was so incredibly greatful that there were so many people out there that cared.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support of Callan, both financially and emotionally. He was overwhelmed with the love and support shown.
Rest in peace Callan
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