I was given six months to live at 20. Years later, I'm a thriving college grad with a life partner.

• Brittany Rudy, 32, has scleroderma, a life-limiting autoimmune disease. 
• She was given six months to live when she was 20. 
• A decade later, she graduated from college and has a life partner.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Brittany Rudy, an advocate with Lungs&You®. It has been edited for length and clarity.