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"When the call from the doctor came in 2003 telling me that I had scleroderma (a disease that can cause your skin and other organs to harden and not function as they should), my husband and I decided that since I looked well, my daughters, Samantha and Annie, then 6 and 4, didn&amp;#039;t need to know. As a child, I worried about my parents dying even though they were perfectly healthy. Not telling my daughters about my diagnosis was my way of protecting them from those worries, which I did fairly easily\u2014until last fall. Annie had been battling fatigue and a fever for nearly a week. My sister Margie had the same symptoms when she was diagnosed with lupus more than 30 years ago, so I knew I had to say something to the doctor at Annie&amp;#039;s visit. When I mentioned that he might want to check for autoimmune illnesses since we have a family history of lupus and scleroderma, Annie asked, &amp;quot;What is autoimmune?&amp;quot; That&amp;#039;s when I knew I had to tell them about me. That night, while Samantha and Annie were watching TV, I came into the family room and turned down the volume. &amp;quot;There&amp;#039;s something I have to tell you girls,&amp;quot; I said. &amp;quot;You know how I have Raynaud&amp;#039;s, and that&amp;#039;s what makes my fingers get numb in the cold? Well, it&amp;#039;s actually because of a disease called scleroderma.&amp;quot; The girls silently studied my face, their eyes wide with concern. &amp;quot;Is it serious?&amp;quot; Samantha asked. &amp;quot;Can you die from it?&amp;quot; Annie asked. &amp;quot;You can, but I&amp;#039;m OK,&amp;quot; I said. &amp;quot;People can live with it for a long time.&amp;quot; In that moment, a weight lifted from my chest. I immediately felt closer to them, and I was glad that I could now be honest about why I can&amp;#039;t swim or snowshoe (my fingers get too painful in the cold), and why I may have to go to the doctor often. Yes, I worry about my daughters worrying: Samantha has said she&amp;#039;s afraid of what might happen to me, and Annie says she worries that she&amp;#039;ll have it (she&amp;#039;d just had a stubborn virus that fall). But they need to know their family medical history so they can protect their health. A few years ago when we did a fundraising walk for the Scleroderma Foundation, Annie and Samantha had no idea why. This spring, my daughters will do the walk knowing the real reason and understand that someday it could help me\u2014or even them. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/womens-health/advice/a6468/being-honest-about-illness/>