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Growing Old Before My Time

Every time I go for an appointment with my renal doctor, I’m reminded that I’m an anomaly. Before seeing my specialist, I jump on the scales in the waiting room, the procedure for all patients. But as I unlace my shoes and step up to be weighed,…

Climbing Mental Mountains

I have always been a prissy girl, a makeup junkie and a fashionista, so hiking has been a giant ‘no.’ Camping? I don’t think so. But lupus has changed this. Am I physically hiking and camping? No, but mentally, I am going on a daily hike, taking…

How Travel Planning Changes with Lupus

Traveling is one of my greatest passions. From the very first moment I set foot overseas, I was hooked. I love the culture shock and being thrust into a world that’s completely unlike anything I’ve ever known. But traveling with a chronic illness is potentially dangerous on…

The Downside of Refusing to Define Myself by Lupus

I was a lot of things before lupus, and my diagnosis hasn’t changed. Of course, it is undeniable that my life has been altered by chronic illness, but not nearly as much as many might assume. When I think about what I’m capable of, my mind doesn’t go…

The Elusive Party Girl

Life has been so unpredictable since my lupus diagnosis. It seems like so many of us with lupus make plans with the best intentions, and have to cancel because of the challenges the disease can pose. I am a social butterfly by nature. I used to attend a…

Battling My Body to Regain Fitness

Most women make resolutions at the start of the year to lose weight. That was not my resolution. I loved my curves, especially my legs. I’m always in a great pair of high heels. I am, after all, the Hurricane in Heels. I was on the go, and wearing…