Following Dre
Hello Everyone! My name is Victoria Boykin. I’m Deandre’s Wife of 5 years now. We live in Virginia Beach, VA. We met in high school in 9th grade at First Colonial where we created what has been an unbreakable bond and after experiencing life a little separately we have grown together for almost a decade now and I just want to share with you a little about him and his current condition and why I love him so much and am extremely proud of him!
Deandre is 29 years young. He is a devoted, loving and passionate father, husband, son, brother, uncle, cousin, friend, protector & so much more! He is amazingly talented and generous in so many ways! He is the creator and owner of Heartlessking Clothing & Heartlessking ENT. to name a couple. Not to mention the many features and collaborations in different projects he has had part in. He has an infectious way of making people laugh and take a second to look at life through different perspectives! If you have encountered him chances are you love him & he shows that same love back! This year has been a roller coaster journey to say the least.
Starting in April of 2019 Deandre started experiencing muscle weakness and shortly after what we now know to be Raynaud’s phenomena and some minor weight loss at first which wasn’t a bad thing but he wasn’t trying to either. It progressively seemed to get worse and more difficult for Deandre to complete his very physical job duties where He worked out of state for 6 weeks at a time and would be home for 2 weeks. His strong will and determination got him through his daily pain and trails until we decided as a family he needed to come home to be properly evaluated and get the answers we have been looking for and get a plan of action. Never did we think that some cold fingers and sore muscles would lead to where we are today.
Deandre was officially diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Scleroderma in February of this year(2020).
Scleroderma is a group of autoimmune diseases that may result in changes to the skin, blood vessels, muscles, and internal organs.[2][6] The disease can be either localized to the skin or involve other organs as well.[2] Symptoms may include areas of thickened skin, stiffness, feeling tired, and poor blood flow to the fingers or toes with cold exposure.[1] One form of the condition, known as CREST syndrome, classically results in calcium deposits, Raynaud's syndrome, esophagealproblems, thickening of the skin of the fingers and toes, and areas of small dilated blood vessels.
The cause is unknown; however, some suspect it may be due to an abnormal immune response.[2]Risk factors include family history, certain geneticfactors, and exposure to silica.[3][4][5] The underlying mechanism involves the abnormal growth of connective tissue which is believed to be the result of the immune system attacking healthy tissues.[6] Diagnosis is based on symptoms, supported by a skin biopsy or blood tests.[6]
While there is no cure, treatment may improve symptoms.[2] Medications used include corticosteroids, methotrexate, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).[2] Outcome depends on the extent of disease.[3] Those with localized disease generally have a normal life expectancy.[7] In those with systemic disease typical life expectancy is about 11 years from onset.[3]Death is often due to lung, gastrointestinal, or heart complications.[3]
About 3 out of 100,000 people per year develop the systemic form.[3] The condition most often begins in middle age.[1] Women are more often affected than men.[1] Scleroderma symptoms were first described in 1753 by Carlo Curzio[8] and then well documented in 1842.[9] The term is from the Greek sklerosmeaning "hard" and derma meaning "skin". [sourced from
Wikipedia]
Our first scare with his diagnosis was when he experienced pain in his right ribs and we brought him to the ER & he was hospitalized for the first time this year in early March with pneumonia, blood clots & pulmonary embolism. After 8 days in the hospital and getting all of that under control he was placed on blood thinners for the foreseeable future and some more medication to help with his Scleroderma and sent home. We were doing great going to regular appointments with his specialist and staying Quarantined as this was at the beginning of the pandemic outbreaking in the area. He had started going to physical therapy 2x a week to help with mobility. Since then he has been hospitalized 3 more times. These last times being complications with his stomach and esophagus being dilated from the Scleroderma. He has very bad acid reflux, poor stomach mobility & an electrical shortage in his heart. He has lost over 150 lbs in the past year (he is currently 129lbs standing at 6’1”) and his mobility is very limited at the moment. Deandre is such a strong warrior and has been taking all of this pain and changes amazingly in my opinion. Seeing his strength gives me strength daily! I can’t help but admire him and his determination to fight through all of this! All we truly ask for is prayers and your continued support. We are not ones to ask for help, especially financially, but at the request now of many family members and some close friends we have decided to utilize this platform. We truly appreciate any and everything even if it is kind words!
I have also created a collection to help spread awareness and educate about this rare Autoimmune Disease Scleroderma. You can check that out and support that way also at
https://queenvculture.com/collections/following-dr3?page=1
You can also check out Deandre’s clothing brand sight at
www.Heartlesskingclothing.com
Thank you in advance for any form of support we greatly appreciate it all!!!