FEATUREDDISPARITY
LUPUS
IT'S THE JOURNEY, NOT THE DESTINATION
by Kesha Dan
Throughout my life, I have always had problems with upset stomach depending on what I ate. I have had walking pneumonia at the ages of 19, 24, and 29. I had shingles at the age of 26. January 2007 I was in and out of the emergency room for what I was told was allergies from changing climates.
While living in Tahlequah, OK I had a terrible cough that would keep me up at night, spots on my face neck and arm that would itch turn red and then turn black. I went to the dermatologist the throat and ear doctor, and even had to go see an eye doctor because I started to get blurred vision.
One day early in the morning I woke up in a cold sweat, my whole bed was drenched. I had my sister pick me up and drop me off at the emergency room. The doctor I usually see was out that day, but they had me see his sister, she took my temperature 102.4 and checked my pulse and immediately started an IV on me for fluids.
The infectious disease doctor admitted me because he thought the dark spots on my face were due to me having HIV. When that test came back negative that is when he started testing for everything else on the 4th day of my admission to the hospital.
The physician I was seeing from January 2007 up until I was admitted into the hospital was treating me with Prednisone tapers for my allergies, but he would send me home each time.
During this time I was beginning to get weak, I stayed in bed all day if I could and at this time I was working at the hospital from 6am to 6pm and going to school on the college campus from 8am to 1pm. I was losing up to 12 pounds a week.
I was not diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) until the 16th day of my hospitalization. I had a bone marrow biopsy and a lymphnoid biopsy that removed four from my groin area to rule out lymphoma. The bone marrow biopsy and two days of determination from a panel of physicians decided my life change and diagnosis of lupus. I was in the hospital for 22 days. I look back on this now and am just grateful for the life I am given each day.
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