The Stories of 3 Inspiring Lupus Patients
Lupus can be devastating for anyone who has it. It is a problem within the immune system of the body in which the defense system of the body starts to attack itself. Lupus is the condition when the body produces excessive antibodies in the blood stream, which confuses the system. The results are often painful – joint inflammation and damage, muscle deterioration, and organ failure.
The sad truth about lupus is that it still has no known cure. What experts are doing right now is closely monitoring the patient’s status to formulate the appropriate medications that can allow the patient to live a normal life but for a limited period only. This monitoring also allows the experts to study the disease more and hopefully generate a complete treatment for it. Many lupus patients never lost hope or determination in life. They know that their condition is incurable, but they continue to make the best out of their lives. Here are some stories on lupus patients, where people never lost hope to live a normal life and help others. Let these examples inspire you more in life.
The Lupus Advocate Who Made Her Life Very Meaningful Up To Her Last Moments
The closest people in Cynthia Donlan’s life could not help but recall how Cynthia battled her lupus physically, mentally, and emotionally. However, having lupus did not allow Cynthia just to sit and let her disease consume her precious life. Cynthia participated in organizations that are dedicated to helping lupus patients, like her, to live a normal life.
Since 2002, Cynthia organized fundraising events and awareness campaigns about lupus. One event was held at the St. John Bosco’s Catholic Church in Conyngham, Pennsylvania, wherein food, entertainment, shows, and mini-contests were held to raise money for lupus patients. Another goal of this event was to also provide awareness and relevant information to everyone about lupus and other immune system-related diseases. Cynthia had a great determination to make her events really worthwhile, so she extended them if necessary to get more input from specialists and other people who were willing to help.
Cynthia died peacefully on July 4, 2017. After so many incidents in the hospital and nursing homes, her time finally came. But even when she was already nearing death, she still had plans of conducting events and conferences. Her friends and families couldn’t help but cry and recall her last moments, which she dedicated to helping other lupus patients.
Knowing the Importance of Self-Value and Learning how to Find Your Self-Worth
At first, being diagnosed with Stage IV lupus was deeply upsetting to say the least, but Kristiana Page did not let her condition bring her down. Kristiana, from Australia, started to learn more about herself and what her worth really is. After discovering that she has lupus, the main thing that hit her was her trust in herself. Kristiana was hesitant to get into new relationships with other people. She did not want to tell them of her illness, but she knew it would eventually come out. Because of this, she began to develop hesitations in telling others that she has lupus. Her worry was mainly around the possible reactions that people would have once they heard the news, but eventually, she learned to gain confidence. What the people around her thought did not matter much to her anymore. The best part of it was that she began to know the select kinds of people she wanted to keep in her circle.
There were downsides, too. She felt mental and emotional stress that was brought about by her condition. However, she knew to handle things properly and learned to take a look back at the positive things and all of her achievements.
The main point here is never to allow your condition to limit you from thinking positively and moving forward. For lupus patients, knowing what your true value is, instead of focusing on the negative things around you, will give you a more enjoyable and meaningful life. Kristiana knew that she is strong, hardworking, and determined. She never allowed lupus to take that away. She continues doing her favorite activities like surfing and going to the gym.
Kellie McRae Being a Motivation, Inspiration, and Encouragement to Others
Kellie McRae is a very active person on social media. She is known to constantly share thoughts and facts about lupus. She, herself, has lupus and she is never shy to tell it to anyone. Instead, she uses it as a tool to reach out to others who also have lupus. Her goal for reaching out to others is to keep their hopes up and give them motivation to live a normal life to its fullest. When she started to get sick, she had no idea what the symptoms were about. What she did was use an approach to social media and ask for more information there. The people from the internet shared their experiences about the symptoms and what it could be. She also never failed to get motivational statements to keep her spirits up. When she was finally diagnosed with lupus, she recalled the times how social media helped her stay strong. She felt that she must also return the favor to everyone who has the same condition.
Kellie started to dedicate time and energy to know more about lupus so she could help more people. Even when she decided to move away from her country, Nicaragua, people continued to send her messages about how inspiring and motivating she is. Messages like, “You’re inspiring” and “You’re our hero” are just some of the things she normally gets in her inbox. Being a motivation, inspiration, and encouragement to others brings a very satisfying feeling of responsibility. Knowing that you were able to inspire somebody to continue life and make the most out of it is already as fulfilling as getting a complete treatment for lupus.
If you are one of the people that Kellie McRae was able to inspire and motivate, pass the good deed and help others as well. What she did was so noble and gracious. Knowing that she has a disease did not let her stop from doing good. Social media may be full of absurd things, but Kellie used it to deliver a good message to others.
Final Thoughts
Lupus patients must always have a positive point of view in life. The cure may not yet be discovered, but time will come that experts will finally determine the ultimate cure through everybody’s effort. People like Cynthia Donlan, Kristiana Page, and Kellie McRae are just some of the great examples of people who have lupus but did not allow it to destroy their lives. Instead of letting the condition control what you do every day, you should use it to become an inspiration to others who also have lupus. The primary lesson that these 3 inspiring patients want others to know is that there’s always something special you can do even if you have lupus.
