Rumor has it that Selena Gomez has Lupus and is taking time off from her tour to rest and recover.  Now, let me reiterate it is a rumor and has not been confirmed, but sources say it is true.  First, the more celebrities that get this mysterious disease the better because that is how money gets given to find a cure.  I envision a day where every NFL or basketball team is wearing purple on one game a year in honor of finding a cure for Lupus…I love pink for breast cancer awareness, but the campaign has done a great job and now that disease has an 85% cure rate…let’s include a disease that has yet to be cured and affects way more women than men most in their child bearing years (of course I say all this knowing a cure will help me and I say all that out of respect for the amazing job that Susan G Komen has done to get funds); heck let’s raise funds for both diseases and wear pink and purple!

Well, Selena, if this is true then I know how you feel.  We don’t have the same taste in men, but we do have the same fatigue and aches and pains that come with Lupus.  If you are like me, the more you do the more tired you get and the more angrier you get for not doing all the things you want to do.  Like me, you don’t look sick so people don’t expect you to act sick.  Like me, you have big dreams of working out and not getting fat, but one pill of Prednisone and you gain five pounds and your face looks like a bloated moon.  You may be like me and wake up with joint stiffness every day so bad that you have to strain to pick up your baby and some days you just can’t pick him up.  You have to have your husband open jars because your fingers won’t twist right and Bengay is on your night stand to relieve your shoulder pain.

You might have to take six different vitamins to replace the ones that are lost and you might find sweet symptom relief from a hysterectomy.  In short, if you have it, then I get you way more than most.  So, I hope you don’t have it because it sucks.

Saying all that, I am so blessed because my heart pumps fine, my kidneys work, I have all my neurological functions and I can work my full time job (even though the stress keeps me in a constant flare and the lack of sleep because I have a child brings me down the entire school year…I am fortunate to work since many cannot).  I pray it does not affect your fertility like it did me because one day you and Justin will make beautiful babies…but if it does then adoption is a beautiful thing, too and God has his Hand on that as well. 

Some days this disease is just something I have on my medical records and I forget I have it, but here lately, it is a constant reminder that I have to slow down, get rest and take care of myself if I want to enjoy the next twenty years of my life.  The morning are the worst and to say that I won’t get tired with a baby is a joke.  I am fortunate that I have a great husband that knows how much I hate to say “I can’t” so he does it before I have to and I save face every time.

The good news is: Lupus is a chronic disease, but not a terminal one and it can be treated…but it is mysterious.  It is a strange thing to know that your own body is your worst enemy.  I appreciate all your prayers because I need them.  Glory to God for making all things for the good of those that love Him.