Celebrate With Me — Candace J. Semien

Lupus attacked me in an entirely different way this year. How did I respond? You guessed it: I rushed to get an urgent, same-day visit with a specialist, then sprinted to the emergency room when the pain kept shifting and didn’t respond to any treatment I had at home.

Failure often makes you reflect on the things you didn’t see earlier. When you miss the mark, you tend to consider what caused the misstep and what steps you could have taken to avoid it. Success doesn’t demand the same kind of reflection, although doing so can help you maintain…

“I hope in 2026/ you let everything/ you survived become/ your superpower.” — @spiritdaughter Those words, written in a simple white font, sit on a silver-spotted, emerald green background. They are part of a carousel of quotes posted on Instagram by author Jill Wintersteen. I reread…

Holidays are either the best or the absolute worst time to get out and travel. Yes, there’s the joy of seeing extended family, sharing gifts, laughing through photo albums, reuniting with old friends over homemade eggnog and caroling, and making new memories. But then, like clockwork, concerns arise about…

Where were you when you were told you had lupus? Who gave you the official diagnosis? Confirming lupus is a challenge, not only because it seems to be a mystery to primary care physicians and specialists, but also because of the testing structure, insurance requirements, and even access limitations.

When people think of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), they often only think about the “butterfly” rash, severe joint pain, pleurisy, or kidney problems. But for many of us living with lupus, the most insidious damage is happening in the brain. Inflammation of brain blood vessels can cause…

Last month, “CBS Evening News” co-anchor John Dickerson shared a conversation with social scientist Richard Reeves about making “a simple act of connection.” What Reeves suggested is for people to be proactive and check on one another. He said, “Say, ‘How you doing?’ And then ask, ‘How you…

Once you receive a diagnosis of lupus, it is difficult to avoid its chronic impact. The disease stays on your mind and affects your perceptions and decisions. You may not be in a flare or “suffering,” but you are often still experiencing multiple, full-body symptoms. When these symptoms are…

During a random conversation, a family member, one of the smartest little humans in my life, told me about the books she’s been reading. One is nonfiction and the other is young adult fantasy. She was fascinated by them because, coincidentally, they shared the same theme: that the circumstances, events,…

What would you do if you were stuck in the grocery store parking lot, crippled by locked joints? Imagine your hands and wrists frozen after parking the car, with toes cramped, shifted apart, and bent. Perhaps your ankle rests painfully against the floorboard. You fear that shifting your weight could…

As months turn into years and years turn into decades of living with systemic lupus erythematosus, we begin to record what helps mitigate or temper symptoms before they turn into a full-blown flare. In fact, it often feels like we have an entire armamentarium of health strategies we rely…