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When my body started failing, I hopped on social media and asked if anyone had dealt with similar issues. As the mystery built, I coped by using comedy and positivity, as I often do. When the weight of…

Lupus stinks. I doubt I will ever change my mind about that. However, not everything about it stinks. I am learning to embrace things it has afforded me that I’d hoped for when I was a younger woman. I grew up poor, and when I think of the…

In my past life, I might have been a little vain. Never in an obnoxious way, but I was very secure in my looks and abilities. I have been told all my life that I am pretty, but I always say thank you, and I am gracious, as…

Learning to live with lupus fatigue for nearly five years has been one of my greatest challenges, both physically and mentally. Initially, it was like someone flipped a switch in the middle of the night. I woke up the next day and realized sleep hadn’t rejuvenated me or…

Every morning and evening, I pull out my big bag of medications. The evenings aren’t as bad as the mornings. For the second round of the day, I take fewer meds, and I’ve had the entire day to accept that I must take them if I expect to help…

A month ago, I quit my job as a barista in search of something different. I applied for nearly everything with only one qualifier: I didn’t want another job in the hospitality industry. I’m a big believer that you will never have to fight for what is “right” for you.

I’ve always considered myself a reliable person. If I said I would do something, it would be done. If I said I would be somewhere, I’d likely be the first one to arrive. Punctuality is a sign of reliability. But over the years, lupus has given me a new phrase…

In the last four years, I have played patient to some medical professionals with no regard for me as someone who needed their care. Some were more interested in telling me what they knew instead of letting me express my worries. Some didn’t even treat me as a human being.

I think it’s ironic how in so many situations, we can feel alone, as if we are the only ones who feel a certain way. Then, when we share those feelings with others, we learn we are not alone. Lupus stinks, there is no doubt about it. When I…

I had never truly understood what it means to be loved until I was diagnosed with lupus. Don’t get me wrong — I had an amazing upbringing. As a child and teenager, I wanted for nothing. I couldn’t have asked for better parents…