A man who suffered from a rare disease that was slowly turning his body to stone has died in hospital aged 44.
Auckland man Callan Fabian was first diagnosed with scleroderma – an incurable auto-immune disease – 12 years ago.
The illness, also known as systemic sclerosis, causes the body to produce too much collagen which attacks healthy organs causing them to be overtaken by scar tissue.
A man (pictured) who suffered from a rare disease that was slowly turning his body to stone has died in hospital aged 44
Mr Fabian’s death shocked his supporters, as specialists had predicted he would live until Christmas, The NZ Herald reported.
Ann Wills, of support group Scleroderma Auckland, said Mr Fabian’s passing has left the community heartbroken.
Luckily Mr Fabian had been given an early Christmas celebration on Tuesday, receiving gifts organised by Ms Wills.
‘I just had this funny feeling. And so I thought “I should wrap these up as Christmas presents”,’ she said.
‘We put on Santa Hats and took him the presents; a nice soft blanket, a body pillow, a tri-pillow and a few different drinks that we though he’d enjoy.’
Mr Fabian’s condition caused his skin to thicken and become tight, restricting his movement. He also suffered from painful ulcers on his joints and mouth.
Auckland man Callan Fabian (pictured) was first diagnosed with scleroderma – an incurable auto-immune disease – 12 years ago
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia before he died, Mr Fabian said he was doing all he could ‘to try and stay positive’.
‘I have hard nights because I am on a lot of Morphine, so every day I wake up is a bonus,’ he said.
He revealed specialists first diagnosed with the condition more than a decade ago and he was given a 50 per cent chance then the disease would cause an early death.
Mr Fabian, who was born and bred in Auckland, left New Zealand to live in Australia as a teenager and moved back to his home country nearly five years ago after his illness, which had been dormant, began to seriously take hold.
In the last three years, he deteriorated badly, and limited family support meant six months ago he needed to move to the nursing wing of the Greenview Retirement Home in order to be cared for.
Scleroderma Auckland had set up a Givealittle page to help with Mr Fabian with day-to-day costs and raised $23,955 in the period leading up to his death.
Although Mr Fabian said staying positive was his priority, he was only too aware of how much suffering scleroderma brings.
‘I wouldn’t wish this disease on anyone because it’s such a nasty thing.’