Avia Ustanny, Outlook Writer 
IN 2001 when the father of her three older children died in Florida, leaving the children without care and protection, Dorette Scott was dismayed.
"There was no money," she recalls.
It was bad and worse was to come.
The woman who was aged 41 then, flew to Florida, sold what she could to cover bills and the man's funeral expenses and hired a
U-Haul. Never having driven a truck before, she packed her children and their belongings and drove from Tampa in Florida to Long Island, New York, through snowy weather and at nights. She left the children with her mother and came home to take a breather. But, it was not to be.
Dorette came home only to find that her troubles had just begun.
The owner of the house in which she lived in Kingston with her smallest child had decided to repossess it. In the process of moving from one place to another in Kingston, Dorette also began to notice changes in her health.
"I had always had a problem with swollen feet, but then I started getting what felt like arthritic pains in my hands. I also began feeling very tired and lethargic. I thought it was because I was getting older. Then,
I thought I just needed iron. But, whenever my feet would swell areas of the skin would become dark."
But, born to a mother who single handedly raised five of them without the help of a father, Dorette took all of this in her stride. It was just another challenge to be overcome.
Mom Olive Stubbs Dorette says was a woman of strength who never compromised and always kept her children clean and fed.
"She is my inspiration," Dorrette says. "She paid her bills and she never gave up. She was always working to care for her family."
MUSICAL TALENT
The children of Olive Stubbs were born with musical talent, Dorette not least among them. Had she chosen to use her voice for the secular stage, there is no doubt that the world would have heard about her.
But, grown up in the church by her mother, she restricted the use of her voice to the music ministry in church services. Dorette chose to buy and sell household goods for a living, instead of singing.
Taking her changing health and money problems in stride, she was on her way to a New Year's party in 2003 when, while laughing, she began having an asthmatic attack.
"I was given some garlic tea," Dorette recalls, "but another attack came and I was taken to the University Hospital where I was nebulised. I had five attacks in all."
In a few weeks, Dorrette began to see her fingers near the cuticle getting white. She went to a naturopath doctor who said that her condition could be stress-related and prescribed dietary changes and a detoxification programme. But, her skin continued to darken and weight loss began to occur rapidly.
She then went to one specialist who, commenting that her skin was becoming stiff and shiny, made a diagnosis of scelroderma.
Dorette was sent to do blood tests overseas which came back inconclusive, but her doctors locally have decided that scleroderma was her problem.
PROGRESSION OF DISEASE
"It could be 100° outside and I would be extremely cold. I also noticed that I could not walk on the floor at all. Any hard surface was very painful to step on," the woman told Outlook as she recalled the progression of the disease.
Health literature states that scleroderma is one of a group of arthritic conditions called connective tissue disorders. In these disorders, a person's antibodies are directed against his or her own tissues. It is said to be a rare, progressive disease that leads to hardening and tightening of the skin and connective tissues the fibres that provide the framework and support for the body.
The condition begins with a few dry patches of skin on the hands or face that begin getting thicker and harder. These patches then spread to other areas of the skin. In fact, scleroderma literally means 'hard skin'.
Dorette, who has also read widely on her condition, explains that "Scleroderma hastens collagen production. That is why my hands are hooked they cannot bend. From what I have read, it is similar to lupus. It affects the entire body in three stages. It is very debilitating and progressive. There is no cure."
Tough as nails in her assessment of the disease, she adds, "It tightens the skin and dries out the tissues. It tightens the oesophagus too. I can't keep anything down. There is also loss of pigmentation and severe malnutrition."
TROUBLE EATING
Dorette explains that it now takes her one hour to eat once saucer of food and, invariably, she vomits. She suffers from severe acid reflux one reason why she has been unable to take the steroids, which are used by some medical doctors to slow the progression of the disease.
"I was taking prednisone at low dosages, but it increased my stomach problems."
Dorette now exists on a cocktail of liquid meals and herbal dietary supplements: "I am using fruits and vegetables mainly."
The natural supplements are sent to her by her sisters abroad.
Dorette's condition has progressed to the point where she can do nothing for herself and needs to have someone with her 24 hours a day.
Her mainstay is her 15-year-old daughter Janelle, the youngest of her six children who attends The Queen's High School in St. Andrew.
A DAUGHTER'S SACRIFICE
Dorette discloses: "Janelle hardly sleeps. She gets up in the night to take me to the bathroom. I also have to be turned because if I lie on one side too long, I begin to feel pain. If the pain is too severe, I call her in to turn me. She then has to get up by 5:00 a.m. to get ready for school."
Dorette says that she is also trying to set an example of endurance for her daughter.
"I still have my bills to pay, so I still attend auctions."
Holding on to her independence, she is the one who drives her 1991 Benz to and from buying and selling trips, although she has to be assisted in and out of the car.
"My hands have gotten short, but the steering wheel is extended. My only problem is the turns."
Dorette's only fear is that of falling. "If my legs buckle, I begin to cry. My only fear is fear of falling, because when I do, if no one is around I cannot help myself."
She still attends church faithfully, although she has to be given physical assistance in and out and sometimes cannot remain for the entire service.
And, now that Dorette is unable to carry her role has lead singer for the senior choir, Janelle, who has inherited her perfect voice, sings for her. This makes her happy as singing, she says provides her greatest source of joy.
AN INSPIRATION
The 46-year-old woman says: "Janelle is an inspiration to me. With all that, she has to do, she is still involved in her hockey and drama and still maintaining high grades. If she decided not to sing, I would feel worse."
Glenford Smith, musical director at her church comments, "Dorette is extremely committed to serve and never says no. She has experienced a physical change, but she still has the spirit of service. She is just so strong and resilient, extremely strong in her spirit. She is never sorry for herself. She is more giving than asking to receive and wanting to be served." .
Dorette comments, "If you follow what you read, you get discouraged. The literature says I have five years (to live). But, I know of people who have lived 30 years. If you give up, it will be worse.
"I still believe in God. He has been with me so far though my entire life. God knows how much I can bear. When he realises, I cannot bear anymore he will step in either by healing me or by closing my eyes."
But giving up, she says, is for those who are dead, and she is not there yet. She spends a lot of time in bed, but her telephone sees frequent use.
She still refuses to live downstairs, climbing the stairs to her bedroom.
"I always have to fight to come upstairs but it is like exercise."
She does not intend to give in.
