I was diagnosed with scleroderma and was given 5 years to live. I am celebrating with lavish birthday parties 17 years later.

Kheesa J was diagnosed with scleroderma, a rare autoimmune disease.Her daughter was an infant, and doctors told Jones she had five years to live.Seventeen years later, she's stable and has another daughter.. Loading Something is loading...

Using her tip, he diagnosed me with scleroderma, a rare autoimmune condition that causes the skin and other organs to thicken..

At first, my doctor was happy to have an answer, but then his face got serious: he told me there was basically no treatment, and I was going to die...

I decided that I was going to live every second that I could, and I was never going to have another boring birthday in the hospital again...

For example, if doctors don't take me seriously, I say, "Please make a note in my chart that I asked you about this, and you brushed me off." Suddenly, they're more apt to listen...