Oak Park author overcame odds
By Sophia Fischer sfischer@theacorn.com

Andie Matis

Andie Matis didn't think she'd make it to age 35 and didn't think she'd become a mother. Not only did the Oak Park resident achieve both goals, she has written a book about her experiences.

"Serenaid: A Triumph of Love" was recently published by the Williams Publishing Company in Palm Springs. The story chronicles how Matis overcame a life-threatening illness, adopted a son and formed a relationship with his birth mother. She eventually had two biological daughters.

"I had an encouraging rather than discouraging story, and I thought it might help other people going through something similar," Matis said. "If nothing else, I would have a memoir of this incredible story."

After coming down with bronchitis on her honeymoon in 1981, Matis visited several doctors to find out why her hands were turning blue and developing ulcerations, among other symptoms. She couldn't shower or dress herself. At first doctors thought she might have Raynaud's disease or lupus. A year later, after being in and out of the hospital, doctors determined she had scleroderma, an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation and hardening of the skin and organs. She was 28 years old.

Matis was forced to quit her job at a casting company, as well as dancing, her lifelong passion. She was placed on a variety of experimental medications that at one point numbered 13.

Although she wanted to start a family, doctors advised her to wait five years because the effects of the disease on her kidneys and other organs were as yet unknown. The couple decided to adopt.

"Things can work out for the best even when you think things are at their worst," Andie Matis said.

A few years after her diagnosis, Matis and her husband, Scott, applied to an adoption agency but were denied because of her illness. The couple fought the denial and a year later were matched through the agency with a pregnant woman looking for a stable home for her unborn boy. Bruce was born in January 1987. Matis still had scleroderma but was stable. For the first nine months of Bruce's life Matis could not pick her baby up due to the effect of the disease on her hands. Hand surgery corrected the problem.

Matis and her son's biological mother kept in touch over the years. Some of their letters are included in the book. They did not see each other again until Bruce was about 14. The book tells about the visit and a later meeting in which Bruce meets his halfsiblings, the children of his biological mother.

"I always thought Bruce's birth mother game me the biggest gift I ever had in my life until we had a reunion. She said I saved her. I never realized what I did for her," Matis said.

About five years after Matis' disease stabilized she was able to carry a pregnancy. Their two daughters, Blaine and Brooke, were born healthy in spite of their mother's symptoms that required strong medications.

Scleroderma found its way again into the Matis' life nine years after Andie Matis' diagnosis. Scott Matis' sister contracted scleroderma and died two years ago after a fiveyear battle with the disease.

"It's one in a million that you would have this in your family like this," Matis said. "Scott and I knew she had it before she knew. She thought she had carpal tunnel syndrome."

Today, Matis remains on medication for scleroderma but leads a full life. During the worst part of the disease, Matis continued in creative pursuits. In place of dance, Matis took up painting. Her portrait of the Matis family poolside is featured on the cover of her book. She also taught dance, worked as a choreographer for a number of local productions and earned certifications in arthritis self-help and personal fitness.

She recently returned to dancing and continues to write. She is a member of the Arthritis Foundation Advisory Board and the Southern California Arthritis Foundation. She credits doctors, family and friends for getting her through the difficult years and encouraging her to write her story.

"The most amazing thing about Andrea is her inability to accept defeat," Scott Matis said. "She never gave in to her illness; she never quit. I love her for who she is and the spirit of creativity that permeates her life."

Matis is donating a portion of the proceeds from her book's sales to the Scleroderma Research Foundation. The book is available through www.serenaidbook.com or www.wmpbooks.com.