Kiwi man tries to stay positive as body turns to stone

  • 14/11/2017
Kiwi man tries to stay positive as body turns to stone
Photo credit: Givealittle

An Auckland man is suffering from a debilitating disease that slowly hardens his skin and internal organs, effectively turning his body to stone.

Callan Fabian has gone from a fit and strong young man working as a stonemason to living in constant pain, due to Scleroderma, a rare condition that has no known cure.

Due to the tightness of his skin, Mr Fabian is unable to sit upright for long and ulcers have broken out across his body, which are unlikely to heal.

"I'm losing all of my movement and my ability to do everything," Mr Fabian told NZME.

"I get sick very easily but I stay positive."

His internal organs aren't functioning properly, and Mr Fabian will not recover from the progressive condition.

The 44-year-old has no family in Auckland, however an RSA volunteer has struck up a friendship with him - dipping into his own pocket to help to care for him.

Scleroderma Auckland, a charity that supports sufferers of the disease in New Zealand, has set up a Givealittle page to support Mr Fabian to continue to access care and support.

"It is unacceptable that a volunteer caregiver needs to use his own funds to care for someone in such a condition," the group said.

"As Callan is in constant discomfort and pain and is now unable to sit upright for extended periods of time due to the tightness of his skin he now requires an ambulance just to attend hospital appointments."

Almost 300 people have donated since the page was set up.

Scleroderma is not contagious, infectious, cancerous or malignant and it is usually not hereditary. Around 1000 people in New Zealand are believed to suffer from the disease.

Newshub.