Health
Reconnecting with Life
BY A DA M A D Y O N I Z I A K , E X E CU T IVE D IRECT OR, CHAMP IONS FOR HEALTH
feeling despair due to
my sickness…” and
Daniel was worried he
would not be able to
provide for his family as
a dishwasher. “The truth
is – psoriasis gave me a
lot of shame. Coworkers
asked me ‘what do you
have there?’ and I would
say ‘nothing’ and I would
roll down my sleeves.
But when the supervisor
saw me, he told me
‘you’re wetting your
sleeves, pull your sleeves
up’ and I just could not
bear it and I quit work!
Even with my own wife
I was embarrassed,
“what reaction will she
have”, “will she treat me
differently” but my wife
said, “I know the whole
trajectory of your illness
and I know it is not
contagious.”
“She never abandoned
me… and she wanted to
help me” is how Daniel
describes Dr. Tania
Rivera, his physician at
Rheumatology Center of
San Diego. Daniel had
psoriasis with arthritis
which greatly affected his
entire life. “People would
look at me with disgust. I
had to wear long sleeves
so that my skin could not
be seen. The psoriasis
appeared on my ears,
nose, neck, my whole
body. I was embarrassed
and became depressed,
so much that I didn’t
want to leave my home
to avoid people staring
at me. They did not
know that this disease is
not contagious. But the
truth is that this disease
is very ugly. But thank
God there are people
who helped me through
Project Access and Dr.
Rivera.”
Daniel, originally from
Acapulco in Guerrero,
Mexico, has lived in
the US for 35 years.
He is a husband, and
father to 4 children and
1 grandchild. “I was
38 GBSAN.COM | JUNE 2019
Dr. Tania Rivera
Project Access San
Diego, a program of
Champions for Health,
was able to help Daniel
see a specialist and
receive the treatment he
needed. His physician,
Dr. Rivera, says that
helping patients such
as Daniel and seeing