Six years ago, I was handed an answer of lupus along with a bag of questions that came with it. Life already was hard before my diagnosis, as a working single mother of two boys. Knowing I had lupus didn’t make it any easier. I rocked my…
My Mountain, My Lupus - A Column by Bridget Gardiner
 Summer in our family means a lot of fun and a lot of sun. We’re nomadic by nature already, and traveling and camping are a big part of our lives. So, when school lets out, we pack our bags and spend the summer traveling. The boys take a…
I have worn glasses since I was eight years old. I mostly wore glasses for driving at night, and for reading something far away. Because of this, I rarely wore my glasses to school. Then one day I woke up, 38 years old, and I couldn’t read the labels on…
We live in an age where simpler has become better, yet again. A quick Google search will pull up hundreds of articles on how to simplify life, from having children to raising your aging parents. I have yet to come across one that helps those os us with…
Unbeknownst to me, there is a debate raging in online forums — and it has nothing to do with politics. The debate has been going strong for more than 30 years regarding whether birth control and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) causes flare-ups in Lupus patients. Most women are diagnosed…
Two years ago the Paleo Diet was the diet everyone was talking about. I remember going to a New Years Eve party and they served paleo chili with cauliflower. It may sound very Californian, but it was honestly the best chili I ever had. I remember…
The typical Girlfriend Experience should be one filled with flowers and dates. Meeting loved ones. Family and friends for the holidays. But, when dating a woman with lupus, the Girlfriend Experience is dramatically different. Being a single mom meant I wasn’t the easiest person to date before my symptoms…
As someone with the chronic illness lupus, I am constantly teetering on the line of losing all self-control. Like a high-wire artist, the pole that I hold to balance me, is my children, friends, family, and my doctor. But what happens when your balance is screwed up? I…
Having lupus has meant a lot of missed holidays and vacations, but one holiday it definitely changes is Valentine’s Day. I choose to keep my circle of loved ones extremely close, as they all have to be privy to the ups and downs that go along with lupus.
Having lupus has meant a lot of things to my family. It’s meant weekly doctor visits, sleepless nights, missed choir and band performances, and too many cancelled vacations to count. When I wasn’t sick from lupus, I was working just to maintain my health insurance. Living with…
Recent Posts
- To my ‘forever nurse,’ who finally gave me my diagnosis of lupus
- New analyses show Benlysta may aid flare control, kidney health
- Can art therapy help lupus patients improve cognitive function?
- With chronic illness, checking in means asking, ‘How ya really doin’?’
- FDA approves Gazyva as lupus nephritis treatment