Remembering Maureen Dorothy Rodda.

Maureen Dorothy Rodda 04/08/42 – 14/04/23.

Maureen, my mum, developed the autoimmune condition, Polymyalgia Rheumatica a few years ago, from which she recovered, after receiving steroid treatment. Then a few months after her 80th birthday she became very ill and was eventually diagnosed with a very rare autoimmune condition, only known as its description of: Anti-MDA5 antibody-positive Dermatomyositis with rapidly progressive Interstitial Lung Disease. This condition seems to develop and progress very rapidly and, even in much younger people, is often fatal.

Mum lost her fight with the illness after three and a half months, but it was only in the last few weeks, that the correct diagnosis was finally made.

Before mum became ill, as a family, we were unaware of how many autoimmune conditions there are, and just how serious many of them can be. Even if not life threatening, they are often life changing, painful and debilitating. We feel that much more research into autoimmune conditions is needed, and we also feel that more needs to be done to raise the public profile of them. This is why we are donating all funds collected at Mum’s funeral, to FAIR.

Mum was a wonderful, caring, supportive and generous person and is very deeply missed, by her family and friends.