Watching Her Fade Under the Weight of These Diseases

Pixie has been fighting dermatomyositis, lupus, and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome since 2012. Each of these diseases would be overwhelming on its own—but she is fighting all three at once.

Dermatomyositis causes painful inflammation in her muscles and across her skin. It weakens her body from the inside, affecting even her lungs, liver, and kidneys. Lupus adds even more inflammation, attacking healthy tissues unpredictably. And EDS means her connective tissues are fragile, her joints unstable, and her pain constant.

These conditions don’t just cause discomfort—they take pieces of her life away, little by little.

What I See Every Day

I’ve watched Pixie go from someone who could walk her dogs for hours to someone who can’t make it down the street without pain stopping her. I’ve seen her hands swell and stiffen so much that she can barely hold a pencil or type a short message. Tasks that used to take her minutes now take everything she has.

She tells me she’s “fine,” but I see how exhausted she is. I see how much she misses the life she used to have.

What hurts her the most is that she can’t take care of or play with her dogs—the little babies who have always been her light and comfort. It breaks her heart, and it breaks mine to watch

She Is Out of Work and Out of Options

Pixie hasn’t been able to fully work since late July. She is on block leave without pay, and her FMLA ends mid January. Even if she wanted to push through the pain, which she tried and failed, she is not medically cleared to return until February at the earliest.

And she can’t see the specialists she desperately needs until:

• February 17th for rheumatology

• June 8th for endocrinology

Just imagine living with severe pain and organ involvement, knowing you won’t get real help for months.

And because of insurance roadblocks and system failures, she cannot file for disability. She has no income and no safety net.

Anything you give will help keep her safe and afloat while she waits for the medical care she has been trying so hard to get. Your help could be the thing that carries her through the next few months—the thing that lets her breathe just a little easier.

Thank you, truly, for taking the time to read this and for anything you can give. Pixie means the world to me, and I just want her to have the chance to heal, to rest, and to someday get back to the life and the dogs she loves so much.