Singer Kelle Bryan Shares her Battle with Lupus

Source: Metro News.

It all started twenty years ago, when Kelle Bryan, a founding member of the British pop band Eternal, woke up with a crooked finger. After dismissing it as having slept on her hand funny, Kelle went about her day-to-day activities. However, instead of getting better, things got progressively worse, and the paralysis in her finger spread to the rest of her hand.

A trip to her G.P. diagnosed it as a post-viral infection, and after Bryan was prescribed antibiotics to treat her hand, she was sent on her way. This was just the beginning of a whirlwind journey filled with mysterious symptoms that would eventually lead to a long ten-day hospital stay where she recieved the life-changing diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

SLE, generally referred to as lupus, is one of the most common forms of the disease.  Lupus is a term used to identify a number of autoimmune disorders that basically attacks the body’s healthy cells. When the word "lupus" is used in everyday language, people are likely referring to SLE and the wide range of symptoms that will alternate between flare-ups and dormant periods.

An observant dentist, a hospital stay, and a new reality

Often, lupus will go undiagnosed for years, as many of its symptoms can mask themselves as other conditions. Headaches, joint pain and swelling, rash, hair loss and anemia are just a few of the side-effects that come with lupus. Like so many other patients, Kelle suffered through a number of these, and most of them, if not all, were dismissed as being caused by something else. Thankfully for her, a visit to her long-term and very observant dentist led to a proper diagnosis and ultimately the right course of treatment.

Kelle’s dentist immediately sent her to the hospital where she was seen by another specialist who quickly admitted her. Kelle had been dealing with the disorder for many years. As a result, her body was fighting a number of issues including fine damage to her liver and kidneys. It took 10 long days of many different invasive treatments before she would be discharged, going home as a lupus patient: Her new reality.

Today, 20 years later, when Kelle talks about that experience, she remembers the number of tests that she had to undergo before receiving a confirmed diagnosis of lupus.  Everything from MRI’s, nerve tests to brain scans. Some were painful, others downright scary. Sadly, even today, there is still no one definitive test to diagnose the disease and invasive testing is the only way diagnose lupus.  

According to statistics, as many as 1.5 million Americans suffer from lupus and the disease affects as many as 5 million people worldwide. Many experts believe that those numbers may actually be higher since many people with the disease don’t actually get diagnosed for many years and sometimes, they never do.

Today, Kelle Bryan is a mother of two, runs a talent agency out of her home, and more importantly, continues to be an advocate for lupus and those who suffer from the disorder. One of her biggest challenges and passions is to work towards improving the education about the disease.