Terrifying Answers by Natalie Schoenemann

Plato once quoted “we are twice armed if we fight with faith.”  At the end of the day, right before I drift off to sleep, I try to remember it because I never know what’s in store for me the following day.  In January I was diagnosed with systematic lupus.  For months I was extremely fatigue, had joint pain, aching in my legs, bruising that never healed, sores and rashes that would come and go but I never put all these symptoms together.  I can’t even begin to tell you how many different doctors I went to trying to figure out what was going on.  As a single parent of four I could not afford to be tired all the time which was my chief complaint.  I was told to go to bed earlier, get more rest, and take Coenzyme Q and Vitamin B12.  None of these things helped me.  I basically gave up and just figured this was how I was going to be until the day I walked in for my annual checkup.  My doctor was concerned about my white blood cell count since it had been very low for the past couple of years. He decided to refer me to a hematologist in the medical center.  I was not open to the idea at all.  It was unknown territory that freaked me out.  Part of me thought I’ve lived with it for this long why not continue?  I went home that day and started to research some of my symptoms.  That was not a good idea.  All sorts of diseases popped up that can cause your heart to stop.  The one that stuck out the most was Leukemia.  I had a lot of the symptoms that caused a turbulent melt down.  If this is what I have what would become of my kids?  They have no relationship with their father and I could die.  My biggest fear was not for myself but for my babies.  I wasn’t ready for this.  I dropped down on my knees and prayed to God – I would take whatever disease I had as long as it’s not Leukemia or some type of cancer.  He heard me loud and clear.  It turned out to be Systemic Lupus Erythematosus which is an autoimmune disease that causes your immune system to go into overdrive and can’t tell the difference between normal, healthy cells and germs that can cause infection.  The immune system responds by making autoantibodies that attack the body’s normal cells.   It’s treatable with medication (there is no cure) that can hopefully put it in remission.  I definitely felt like it was the lesser of two evils.   It’s definitely hard at times but I’m learning to manage.  Anyone can get lupus. About 9 out of 10 adults with lupus are women ages 15 to 45. African-American women are three times more likely to get lupus than white women. Lupus is also more common in Latina, Asian, and Native American women. Men are at a higher risk before puberty and after age 50.   If you or anyone you know has similar symptoms I highly recommend getting it checked out.  It’s better to be safe than sorry…… J  http://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/lupus.cfm