Columns

I’ve been overweight most of my life. In high school, I thought I was fat! Looking back at pictures from that time, I wish I was that size again. Before my lupus diagnosis, I was 20-25 pounds over my ideal weight — I thought I was huge. Today, I would…

  It’s printed on T-shirts. It’s something we teach little boys when they fall and get the first scrape that brings tears to their eyes. It’s certainly something you learn if you join the military. I’m referring to the saying, “Pain is weakness leaving the body.” Well, I…

Having lupus is hard enough, but when a full-time job is added in, it’s almost unbearable. Sleep is always an issue. It seems like we never get enough. And then taking a shower uses up what little energy we have left. We’re exhausted by the time we…

Imagine that it’s a beautiful, sunny, crisp fall afternoon. You look out of your window and decide that it’s a good day to rake up the leaves. You step outside into a near perfect day, take your rake, and get to work. You’ve made a nice pile of…

I used to think winter was the most depressing time of the year. I hated to see the leaves fall off the trees. I couldn’t wait for spring when the flowers started blooming again.  Now that I have experienced true depression, I know the difference. There is a form…

When I lived in Thailand, I made this funny video about the things people living in the U.S. take for granted. While the video was intended to be entertaining, some of the things I once took for granted are a challenge these days. With lupus, you can…

In a previous column, I discussed how there are two polar personalities within my body. There’s the energetic, “anything is possible, never back down, and go-go-go” Kristi. Then there’s the lethargic, down-in-the-dumps version who can’t find the motivation to make herself lunch. I’m usually one or the…

I’ll always remember the day I found out I have lupus. It sticks with me like the memory of where I was the day Elvis died. It is a dividing line between the former “normal” days and my “new normal.” Everyone has different symptoms that lead them to make that…

I find it funny the things that people choose to say and the words they withhold from you. Those of us living with a chronic illness such as lupus often hear, “You don’t look sick.” What we wish they meant was, “You look really good in spite…

Last week I caught my second cold for the year and followed it up with a sinus infection for good measure. Unfortunately, it’s only to be expected when the beautiful Australian summer finally gives way to autumn’s cool change, especially when you’ve heavily and deliberately suppressed…