Columns

Can substantial support, or lack of it, affect outcomes for a person living with chronic illness? Simply put, yes. Study after study is showing that support has a direct impact on disease outcomes for patients. After learning how important support was early on…

We have spent all of our lives in a place that we take for granted, a place that we think we completely control — our bodies. Then we start feeling things that are unexplained, and a diagnosis comes to let us know that we only thought we were…

Ask anyone with a chronic illness, such as lupus, about some of the biggest challenges they face on a regular basis. One of the biggest issues you will hear about is employment. Working is tough – on one hand, we never know when a flare is going to occur…

I don’t usually ask why something happens to me. I am usually the one to ask, instead, what is my purpose in this situation? I am also a solutions-type person, so I realize that asking “why” is going down a never-ending rabbit hole. It will render no real…

The thing about being so open about my lupus on social media is that people often attempt to force their advice on me. While I understand that, for the most part, it’s incredibly well-intended, please understand that although I’m speaking out I’m actually not asking for your opinion…

Lupus is mean — good for stealing a lot of things from the people it affects. However, since it stole my main career, life has become a lot slower, primarily because lupus stole my energy. But that’s not the point of this column. The point is that when…

I am lean, but not sunken, and not emaciated-looking. Once upon a time, I was 170 pounds, now I top out at about 118. Thanks to lupus, I went on a rapid weight-loss program without having signed up. I was so ashamed when I first lost the weight…

I’ve gone through countless evolutions in the past 18 months. One year ago, I felt physically overcome by weakness. Just getting up in the morning was a feat in itself, let alone tackling the day in front of me. But I made a choice, a choice that has…

I would wake up sneezing as if I had allergies. I’ve not had this happen very often, so I figured I’d brought something new home that I was having a reaction to. I had no idea that what my body was responding to was behind my walls. I’d…

Rarely do I try supplements or alternative therapies. But I was approached to try a supplement geared toward patients with lupus. At the time,…