All I Want To Do Is Breathe – Systemic Scleroderma

Lynn Bishop is a non-smoker who developed a cough and runny nose that left her feeling miserable and prompted a visit to the doctor. Her illness was treated as bronchitis but when the medicines didn’t help, further investigation led to a devastating diagnosis. Lynn learned she had an interstitial lung disease called Systemic Scleroderma and was told that she had 2 to 5 years to live. The cardinal feature of scleroderma is the thickening of the skin, but it can also affect the organs, especially the lungs, as it does in Lynn’s case. Lynn’s battle took a turn for the better when she became the patient of Dr. Kristin Highland, a leading expert in developing therapeutics in lung disease and the Director of the Rheumatic Lung Disease Program at the Cleveland Clinic.