Lupus Tattoo!!!

I will never forget my 12th tattoo (my lupus tattoo) because I should not have gotten it anyway. I still did not know why I got it, but I am very thankful for the events that led to my diagnosis, its still hard sometimes to talk about, but it was & is my blessing in disguise. It is a island with a palm tree & a treasure chest, somewhere I usually imagine in my head often. My foot was swollen but I still wanted the tattoo (it's featured in the tattoo section on the cure4lupus.org website) Long story short the tattoo got infected & I started running a very high temperature & could not keep food down. For some reason everything I ate tasted awful & would make me vomit. I again went to the emergency room & was sent home with medicine for nausea & still with my slight temperature & my foot infection. I would feel hot all the time but just thought I was coming down with the flu. I was working at the local hospital in Tahlequah, OK from 6pm to 6am & taking classes at Northeastern State University from 8am to 1pm, leaving me with no sleep, stress & lupus to easily attack my body. During this time before my admission to the hospital I lost 12 pounds in a week, I was always swollen around my foot & ankles, it was a horrible transition. I have also suffered from shingles twice & fought through having walking pneumonia several times.

I was finally admitted into the hospital on June 12th 2007 & experienced a very long 22 day stay. I was initially admitted because the infectious disease physician thought the dark spots on my face (discoid lupus spots) were due to me possibly having HIV. When the test results for HIV came back negative, he decided that I needed to be tested for everything else. I was not diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) until the 16th day of my hospitalization. I had a bone marrow biopsy & a lymphnoid biopsy that removed four lymphnoids from my groin area to rule out lymphoma.

Finally the bone marrow biopsy & two days of determination from a panel of physicians decided my life change & my diagnosis of lupus. I look back on this now & am just grateful for the life I am given each day. I am on disability & have had to put continuing online education to get my bachelors degree on hold due to lack of concentration, memory loss & brain fog. I am unable to work full time & right now part time work would be difficult due to recent complications that are happening due to lupus activity. I was blessed to receive benefits my first time trying but pay so much for medications, surgeries & hospital visits that my income is very limited & I am barely making it. Through all of this I make sure I smile everyday, & try to stay positive, it is hard sometimes but this type of attitude helps.

I hope my story can help someone who may have some of the same symptoms in different ways. Lupus mimics many other illnesses, & is very hard to diagnose. My journey with lupus has begun & it is far from over, read on & see how I fight it!!!