HEALTH AND FITNESS
6
La-Fina
Living
with
Lupus
It was about 3 years ago when I woke up
and my left arm was in severe pain, the pain
was so bad, I thought that I had broken it
while I was sleeping. I also noticed that I had
red rashes on my chest and neck and I didn’t
know how it happened. I continued to go
back and forth to my primary doctor for
about a year and a half, and all of my blood
tests kept coming back normal. I would
get dizzy from time to time and experience
periods of hot flashes in addition to the
other unexplained symptoms I was having. I
got to a point where I had no energy to do
anything, and some mornings I would wake
up so stiff and in pain that I would literally
pray and go back to sleep because It literally
hurt to move. Although I was going through
this hardship, whenever I did have the energy
and strength I would use it pursue my dream
as a model at that time. My first experience
on the runway was April 15, 2015 during
the Ms. Theresa Miss Full Figured USA 2015
pageant where I won the rising star award.
Immediately after the pageant I opened my
own boutique “La Beautique”. La Beautique
started off as a shapewear company where
I consulted and helped women achieve the
desired look they wanted while wearing their
clothes.
Photography|Nestle Snipes
MUA| Crystal Carmen, Pink Stiletto Cosmetics
Model/Designer and Stylist | Ms. La of La’Beautique
Designs | La’Beautique
Accessories |”Simple Elegance” Collection of La’Beautique
WWW.QUEENSIZEMAGAZINE.COM| MAY 2017 ISSUE
In August of 2015 I had to undergo an
emergency abdominal surgery which
triggered a lupus flare up unbeknownst to
me. After that I was in and out of the hospital
for 6 months battling lupus in addition to
having two more surgeries on my abdomen,
one being open surgery.