Barely a week after arriving in Thailand, I was hospitalized. Doctors told me that my platelet count was so low that they were afraid my brain would spontaneously start bleeding, among other things. I am so foolishly optimistic that I figured it would right itself and I would…
Living with a chronic illness is difficult, all the more so because most of my symptoms are invisible and largely undetectable by everyone else. My family has always lived by a “tough love” philosophy regarding health: Unless it’s something genuinely debilitating, you put on your “big-girl pants” and…
Five years ago, when I realized my mother would pass because of lung cancer spreading throughout her body, one of the first things I did was look for a therapist. My mother was the first person truly close to me to pass away, and I knew it would…
Ever hear people say a lady would never cuss? The reply is usually something like, “Whoever accused me of being a lady?” I read about a study (it was on the internet, and we all know everything on the internet is true, right?) that said people who…
My life is busy. People have suggested to me on more than a few occasions that maybe it’s even a little too busy, especially for someone with underlying health issues. I’d be outright lying if I didn’t admit that being chronically ill isn’t a significant driving factor in…
I recently spent a month with my family in my hometown region of Long Island, New York. It was an enjoyable but extremely busy season of life, so when a family member recommended I visit a local salt cave, I was intrigued. I hadn’t previously heard of salt cave…
There are so many days that I feel guilty for doing things that others cannot. I see so much suffering from this disease, the degree varying from person to person. Some go into remission and appear to have “normal” lives while others have an extremely tough battle. I…
Lupus, I have a hate for you that runs through my veins. It’s a part of every fiber of my being and will be until the day I die. In one fell swoop, you turned my entire life upside-down and took everything I once thought I knew about…
If you have been keeping up with my column, you know that I live in Thailand. I am an American but moved here because of the country’s great lupus track record, plus affordable and quality healthcare. I also now have a super affordable lifestyle. My one-bedroom apartment in a…
When healthy in the past, I looked at illness as a fairly static state of being. But what has become increasingly more apparent to me over nearly two years with lupus is that life with a chronic illness is anything but static. Some symptoms of lupus come…