I sit here on day 11 of my first hospital stay of 2020. I’ve learned that pharmaceutical companies test how wide your esophagus will open to accommodate pills that would make a horse gag. I am doing all I can to remain sane, but few things make you lose track…

Picture it: It’s 2016, and life was good. I had hair. And then all of this unexplained pain ascended onto my body. I remember it like it was yesterday. Once doctors declared what tortured me, I signed up for pretty much every Facebook group with the word lupus in it.

I don’t make resolutions. It seems that now they have been replaced with mantras and buzzwords. However, my daughter asked me on New Year’s Day if I had something that could give me life guidance this year. I told her that instead of constantly trying to find ways to monetize…

When we were kids, a friend said that he wanted to be a doctor. He never deviated from his goal. He joined the Navy, became a medic, and has since retired from that career. I’ve been all over the place; I’ve done more things than I can recall. My one…

I live in an area with a rich history. I am up the road from one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Yet I’ve never been. I live a two-hour plane ride from Mexico City, but I haven’t made the trip. Chichen Itza is an ancient ruined Mayan…

I was fast asleep in the wee hours. I went to take a breath and could not. I tried again, only to be met with a sound that I will describe as a squeaky toy. I bolted upright and tried again, pretty much in a full panic. By some miracle,…

I was recently feeling a little tired but was still able to function. I went to breakfast with a friend on Saturday and struggled to sit up once I returned home. I lay down around 1 p.m. that afternoon and didn’t get up until Monday morning. Showering took what little…

I’m frustrated with my body that causes me considerable discomfort and uncertainty. Since my diagnosis, I’ve had an average of four hospital stays a year. I have done my best to avoid an admission this year. I don’t see my doctor as often as I should, but it’s not because…

Once upon a time, I was an adventurous eater. I looked forward to visiting new restaurants and trying their signature dishes. Along with a great meal, a glass of red wine was a must. Lupus changed all that. I was a surf-and-turf kind of girl. I loved lobster, and I…

At the end of 2015, my body was doing all kinds of strange things. I was caught in a revolving door at the hospital and seeing every specialist known to man. But no one could tell me what was wrong. On Jan. 1, 2016, I took a trip to Daytona…