Growing up, I was very healthy. Then in 2004, I started getting ill and ended up in the hospital. The doctors didn’t know what was wrong.
In 2007, at the age of 32, I ended up hospitalized because they thought I was having a heart attack. I passed out woke up to my husband panicking, and I realized I was in a hospital room! I was there for almost three weeks. They ran all kinds of tests on my heart and couldn’t figure it out. Then, I was hospitalized again because of my kidneys. The doctors were baffled and sent me to a specialist.
The doctor took a look at me and said, “I’m gonna run a lot of blood work on you to make sure you have what I think is wrong with you.” As my husband and I waited, I was so scared and nervous, but also ready to find out what was going on with me! I used to work 12 hour shifts, 60 hours a week, and now I could barely even get through part-time work. I was exhausted all the time. I was always in extreme pain and very irritable and forgetful!
Then, three days later, we got the call to come back to the doctor’s. She explained to my husband and I that I have an autoimmune disease called Lupus SLE and that there’s no cure for it. All they can do is give me meds, mainly steroids and anti inflammatory drugs, to help control the flare-ups and discomfort. I was crushed and asked, “God, why?” I was only 32. I used to be full of energy and could work all those hours and still do my daily tasks. Now I have no energy and fewer good days!
I wouldn’t be truthful if I said that a part of me wasn’t angry and worried, because I am, but I still try to put a smile on my face every day that I get to wake up! I just wanna tell people who have loved ones with this illness or any illness really, please do your research on the illness that they have so you can better understand what’s going on or what’s gonna happen! It is 2015, and now I’m disabled and can’t do the things I used to take for granted. But I still try to and will try to keep my strength and faith til my last breath!
Tammy
California
Submitted 08/06/2015
The informational content of this article is intended to convey a personal experience and, because every person’s experience is unique, should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional healthcare advice.
