It has been a while since I’ve written anything. A lot has happened in the past year, and my whole life has been flipped upside down.
It all started when a rash appeared on my face at the age of 13, shortly after my family moved to B.C. from a small town in Manitoba. Hair loss was the second symptom, but seeing as I was in my “transitioning years,” I didn’t think much of it. After all, it’s normal for the body to go a little crazy during puberty, right?
The rash wouldn’t go away and I began feeling unattractive and anxious for my skin to finally clear. So when I was 17 and my face was still red, dry and bumpy, my mom and I decided to hit the walk-in clinics and see a couple of doctors. One doctor simply asked me what I thought it was. His verdict wasn’t very reassuring.
“Do you think it’s acne? Well then it probably is.” And with that, he handed over a tube of acne medicine.
Let’s just say that when it comes to doctors, we had a difficult time finding someone who actually put his heart into his work.
In June we moved to a different house. While carrying some light boxes up the stairs, I felt a funny “click” in my left foot. That was that for a while, and I thought nothing of it. The next day, my foot was lightly swollen.
I’ve had swelling before and it always went away after a few days, so again, I ignored the symptoms. I didn’t in any way connect it to the fact the previous winter I had been diagnosed with Raynaud’s phenomenon. Why would I? I felt fine and out of the three kids in my family, I was always the healthiest.
With each day, my foot grew bigger and bigger until eventually my entire leg swelled up to the point where I walked with a huge limp, and felt like crying every time I had to put my weight on that leg. Walking became a tedious and painful task.
Of course at this point, I decided it was probably time to reveal my troubles to my parents, and we became worried. That June God led us to a doctor who was very perceptive and immediately connected the dots. I was sent to the hospital for blood tests and an ultrasound. The ultrasound ruled out the possibility of a blood clot, so there was only one thing left that had made sense to the doctor: Lupus. I began to learn about the disease when I found out that I might have it. Several blood tests later, I was officially diagnosed.
The first few months were the hardest. I had my first experience with flare-ups, during which I would struggle with hot flashes, fevers, nausea, extreme fatigue, depression, and loss of appetite. On a daily basis, I struggle with joint and muscle pain, fatigue, hair loss, the facial rash, my swollen foot, and the symptoms of Raynaud’s.
The diagnosis was hardest on my parents. How could their baby girl be sick? How was it possible for me to have a disease my family had never even heard of? Why was this happening? I had to switch from full-time work to part-time, and God blessed me with a manager who works with me and has never once complained about my many requests for schedule changes.
Read Part II of Edith’s compelling story, where she reflects on what she has learned from Lupus and what it means to her faith in God.
By Edith Friesen
Read bio and see more from this author
