Casie O’Quinn is a 23-year-old female who suffers from severe systemic sclerosis (scleroderma) with Raynaud’s.

“Scleroderma is a rare, debilitating autoimmune disease for which there is no cure. It's often progressive and sometimes, fatal. It affects every age and gender and it's neither preventable nor contagious. It confuses the best of the medical field by making it difficult to diagnose. Scleroderma attacks the Circulatory System, cutting off blood flow to extremities, resulting in Gangrene and amputation. It affects the Gastrointestinal Tract, Heart, Kidneys, Lungs, and Esophagus. Scleroderma causes hardening, thickening, and tightening of the skin which oftentimes, causes devastating results to one's facial appearance and one's mobility.”

Casie was first diagnosed with scleroderma in 2014 at the age of 18 after experiencing severe Raynaud’s phenomena symptoms.  Her illness has progressed despite aggressive treatments, her skin involvement continues to lose range and harden, her joint pain continues to increase as well as tighten and stiffen, and lung function continues to decrease.   She has tried various immunosuppressants and either failed or been intolerant to many forms of medications.  At 23 she is already suffering from acronecrosis of her fingertips and loss of full function/range of motion of her hands and wrists.  She has had progressive skin disease since diagnosis while receiving medical care at several hospitals under the care of a rheumatologist, neurologist, cardiologist, gastroenterologist, pain management physician, occupational therapist, and vascular surgeon.

With the advice from her local rheumatologist, she began researching across the United States for a center where she might be a candidate for SCT (stem cell transplant).  After applying to Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, Division of Immunotherapy and Autoimmune Diseases, a unique area of treatment and research utilizing stem cell transplantation, she was accepted for evaluation and after several days of testing has been approved for their program.

 After being declared disabled due to the illness, Casie’s determination and drive pushed her to graduate with honors in psychology in May 2018 from the University of New Orleans, despite her chronic daily pain. Her resolve is clear and even though her education is now on hold, she is determined to get the treatment that will slow down and put this disease in remission so she can go on to graduate school and become a psychologist in the field of PTSD and fulfill her dream of helping others with stress disorders.

This Go Fund Me page will help with the out of state travel and housing for Casie and her mom while in Chicago for the procedures, and the medical bills that are piling up reaching over $60,000. There will also be 6 trips to Northwestern within 8 months for the procedures and thereafter evaluations every 6 months. These funds will enable Casie to get her chance to fulfill her dream and help others. This is Casie’s chance at life.