Four years ago, in the Spring of 2011, after countless doctors visits and hospital stays, the most important woman in my life died due to complications with Lupus.
I was blessed to have my mother with me through much of my adult life, often taking for granted that the love, wisdom and advice that
she shared would always be there.
LIVING WITH LUPUS:
AMERICA'S LEAST RECOGNIZED MAJOR DISEASE AFFECTING WOMEN
By Micheale Washington
When I look back on her life and death, I realized that although my mother suffered from Lupus, I had no real concept of how debilitating the disease was, primarily because my mother was a silent sufferer who would find the strength to raise and provide for her family by masking her pain. There were a handful of times I found her racked with pain, lying in bed whispering quiet prayers, and still yet more occasions later where her overnight hospital visits stretched on for weeks and sometimes months. But there were far more times where my mother was as active and full of life as anyone; so much so that I for the majority of my life did not consider my mother to eve have a disease.
Everyday, since her passing I think of those things that were important to her, including her faith and her family. And I think of all the other sufferers of Lupus and what they might be going through. I’ve met many people living with Lupus as well as their family members and discovered that there is still very little known by the general public about Lupus, a disease that can be very difficult to diagnose.