When The System Fails You- An Open Letter to the 2020 Lupus Summit
"You have Lupus." It's not something you want to hear but by the time I got to this particular point in my journey, I was just relieved to have a name for what I had been going through. It started as a few aches and pains, and a little bit more exhaustion than I was used to. No big deal I thought, I’m pushing 30, I have a stressful job, and I don’t know how to say no. So I did what any 30-year old does and I got a gym membership. I lost almost 75 pounds, I was a cross fitting beast, and was in the best shape of my life yet I still felt terrible. I went to the doctor every year with the same complaints and was told I simply needed to lose more weight. But I had done that and even after losing the weight, I still felt the same. How is that even possible? Not one person throughout 4 years of exhaustion asked more questions or thought to seek further understanding about what could possibly be wrong with me and instead I was offered diet pills by my physician. ...