I wish there were a way to take screenshots of the significant moments of my journey with lupus. I wish there were a way to collate those moments, and the feelings that came with them, and turn them into a USB download. I wish that when I started to explain…
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.
Lupus is the giver of many lessons, and one of the most important lessons it taught me was how to value the things in my life. Since I was a child, my dad has always told me that time is the most valuable gift that life offers us. But…
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…
Earlier this week, as I was driving home from work, I realized I’d finally evolved to a new stage of accepting my lupus. A fresh pang of fatigue hit, but as it washed over me, I recognized that my reaction was different than previous ones. My response to fatigue has…
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 wish there was something I could do to help.” This is a common response when I tell someone about my chronic illness. Sharing with someone that an external force is hurting you prompts a wave of emotion and action. They believe they can help, and more than that,…
How would I describe myself in one word? Strong. Of all of the adjectives I could use to sum myself up, this is the one I identify with the most. My strength of mind and body defines who I am today. It is the culmination of almost a thousand…
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…
When I hear that someone I know has been freshly diagnosed with a chronic illness, I feel deeply hurt. I have flashbacks to the months I spent coming to terms with my own diagnosis, and my heart sinks. I would not wish a chronic illness on anyone. A life…