HEALTH & WELLNESS
KELLY’S STORY
THE IN-BETWEEN SPACE
By VIRGINIA KERR
When I first met Kelly Ellison, I was in the public restroom at KMOVTV in St. Louis where I worked as a TV host, getting ready for the
station’s weekday program, Great Day St. Louis. She walked in with
an amazing smile and an even better energy. I didn’t notice there was
anything “wrong” at first. I asked why she was there. She said, “To
talk about scleroderma.”
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Oh right. I was on that segment. I had to look at my notes 10 times
just to remember how to say that word. Scleroderma. It makes me
feel better now when I hear Kelly tell her story, and she says, “At
first, I couldn’t even say scleroderma much less explain what it was.”
That was in 2007, when she finally received the correct diagnosis.
A well-established team leader at Edward Jones at the time, she was
going from doctor to doctor for all kinds of symptoms. Digestive
issues, itching, swollen hands and feet, weight loss, fatigue...the one
symptom she forgot to tell them about was cold hands and feet. That
symptom combined with the others might have helped them figure it
out sooner.
When she finally got the answer, she was still not sure what she had.
She can now explain that it is an over production of collagen that
causes the skin and connective tissue to harden and build up around
the lungs, digestive system and even the heart. It can kill you.
GAZELLE WEST
There are different levels, and Kelly has the worst kind. The kind
that usually takes your life within five to 10 years. Her symptoms
started 10 years ago.
In the bathroom that day I wasn’t aware of her prognosis. I just
knew I wanted to be around her. She had a light. A joy that you
could tell she wanted to share. Somehow, in that two-minute
exchange she revealed she was a Christian and she knew God was
using her to help other people who have scleroderma or know
someone who does.
She was there to tell the world – well…the Great Day audience...
she had started The Relief Foundation to help those affected by
scleroderma.
We became friends on Facebook, and I watched her post pictures
and videos of how she found clever ways to overcome challenges.
We met to catch up and celebrate her 44th birthday. She’s sporting
a new hairdo. She had to cut her hair very short because she could
no longer brush and curl it. The skin on her hands became so tight
it hardened her fingers. They curl under, and she can’t move them.
The pigment of her skin is fading in spots. She pulls back her sleeve
and lets me feel her arm. It’s smooth like a stone.