I am lean, but not sunken, and not emaciated-looking. Once upon a time, I was 170 pounds, now I top out at about 118. Thanks to lupus, I went on a rapid weight-loss program without having signed up. I was so ashamed when I first lost the weight…
I would wake up sneezing as if I had allergies. I’ve not had this happen very often, so I figured I’d brought something new home that I was having a reaction to. I had no idea that what my body was responding to was behind my walls. I’d…
I make no secret that after lupus stole my offline career (selling homes for almost two decades) that I had to shift and find a new way to earn. There are good and bad things about spending most of your life as an entrepreneur. Over the years, I have…
I believe that everything happens for a reason. Even the bad stuff has a purpose. Don’t ask me what it is, but I know that none of us are getting out of life alive and none of us are getting out unscathed. Before I got lupus, I was…
When I was diagnosed with lupus, I debated about keeping the situation to myself. I never really thought of myself as an advocate for lupus. At that time, I had just moved to a new city where I didn’t know anyone and had taken a new job.
Lupus really does a number on a person, both mentally and physically. When many of us learned we have this incurable disease, for some strange reason, we began feeling guilty. Either because we worry about loved ones, are unable to do something we were able to do in…
Some days it hurts to breathe and a cough can become scary. I’ve learned that a cough is not usually a sign that I have a cold, but that my lungs have become inflamed. When this happens, a hearty laugh or a deep breath can send me…
I find it interesting what some folks do to alleviate stress, to decompress and have a little fun, things sometimes I only wish I had the patience for. Adult coloring is one of those things that comes to mind. I have seen some really beautiful creations and a…
Almost daily there is a report inside one of my support groups that someone has received their butterfly wings – a term I use when someone has passed away from lupus. This happens more often than I would like to discuss. I am often bothered that their deaths are…
I made my living for almost 20 years in real estate, and the funny thing that set me apart was the ability to remember things that others could not. If you told me your name six months ago, I would remember it six months later. Lupus does…