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Singer-songwriter Nik Everett is a little ambivalent about being noticed. On the one hand, he is a professional musician who loves getting up on stage and performing for a crowd. He thrives on the feedback he gets from fans and the knowledge that his music has touched people. On the other hand, he has psoriasis, which, at times, has been severe. When he is playing his guitar in short sleeves, people can easily see the plaques on his hands and arms. Sometimes they stare; sometimes they ask: "What's wrong with you?" or "Did you burn yourself?" Nik acknowledges that psoriasis sometimes makes it difficult to have such a publicly visible career, but he thinks it is worth it. "I'm an extrovert," he explains.

Besides, music was an integral part of Nik's life long before psoriasis entered the picture. According to a recent article about Nik that appeared on the website Out on the Town Online, he was performing regularly, sometimes as part of a band and sometimes as a solo artist, in clubs and on college campuses in Philadelphia in the early 1980's. The release of his first album in 1984 raised his profile in the music world. He was invited to play in prestigious clubs in Philadelphia and New York City and was often on stage six nights a week. He was highly regarded by music critics and had a following of loyal fans. His second album, "Surrender Tonight," released in 1988, was named Best Independent Release by the Philadelphia Music Foundation. It was during this period, when Nik's musical career was in high gear, that psoriasis started to become a problem for him. He developed plaques first on his elbows and hands, then on his face and ears.

Over the next ten years, Nik's psoriasis got worse and worse; eventually, it covered more than three quarters of his body. "It cracked and bled so profusely that I could barely get out of bed, let alone try to play music in front of people," he remembers. He developed psoriatic arthritis in his hands, which made it difficult to play the guitar. Plus, he was exhausted and disillusioned from an all-out but ultimately unsuccessful effort to interest major record companies in his music. "I saw my love and my livelihood slipping away," he says. He quit playing music and at one point even contemplated suicide.

Gradually, Nik was able to climb out of his depression. His frustration with his new job in the corporate world helped him to better appreciate the music world he had left behind; and he found a biologic treatment that eased his psoriasis symptoms. He went back to composing and performing and has since released two more albums: "Summers Gone" in 2004 and most recently, "Little Victories." As for psoriasis, he says, despite the improvements from his medication, his “psoriasis is always there and is always a topic of conversation, even with strangers."

Nik feels lucky in a lot of ways. He knows that some people can’t find a treatment that works for them. He is married to a "beautiful and understanding" woman, but he knows that there are a lot of people with psoriasis out there who are struggling with relationships because of their disease.

He wishes that people had a better understanding of how serious psoriasis can be. He thinks that a lot of people write it off as a little rash or something that can be easily cured by using some cream, but in reality it can be much worse. The arthritis can be debilitating, and even though psoriasis is not a fatal disease, he says, people who have it "may die in other ways--emotionally and psychologically."

"If I can be a source of knowledge and experience for others, especially those suffering worse than me," Nik concludes, "then I would feel fulfilled."

[Further info: Nik Everett's MySpace Music page.]

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Save the dates! Short Sleeve Days 2008 is coming this fall.

 

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