I was admitted that night. They began to perform certain tests. By the end of that night I was told very devastating news. They said that my blood pressure was extremely high because they believed that I was experiencing preeclamsia, which is when you’re body “rejects” the baby and views it as a toxin. The only way to cure it is delivery. They also informed that at the time my liver and kidneys were shutting down and that my blood platelets were dropping by the thousands. The average person has about 150,000-300,000 platelets. I was down to 40,000. I was told that if I reached as low as 20,000 there was a great possibility that I would hemorrhage to death. The decision was made. The only way to save my life was to deliver the baby at 22 weeks, but I was told that the chances were very high that she would not survive, due to her premature birth. They induced my labor that Sunday (I was admitted Friday night). I gave birth to a beautiful, ten and a half inch, 15oz. baby girl whom I named Kayla D. Wisdom. She passed away four minutes after birth.

After her birth, I was told that there were still complications. After several blood tests and severely bruised up arms from all the needles, I was told that I had what looked like the manifestations of Lupus. I didn’t know what Lupus was, so I was just thinking to myself, ok, I might have Lupus, but what is it? I wasn’t concerned until my little sister called me crying. At that point I became concerned and started crying wondering about the condition. I was put on a high dose of steroids (Prednisone) to stabilize my system. I was finally released from the hospital after 10 days.
I was on Prednisone for a year. The side effects of it were horrendous. My face had become huge, round and swollen-looking, I gained 30lbs. and grew huge arms. I felt like a beast. Over the past 2 years, my Lupus has consisted of chest pains, pleuritis (inflammation of the lining of the lungs), pericarditis (inflammation of the lining of the heart) and protein in the urine.

Today, thanks to the Grace of God, my health is restored. I am functioning fully and to my highest capacity. I do not have any chest or joint pains or protein in my urine anymore. Two years later, I have just begun to exercise, something that was long overdue. My message today to sufferers of Lupus and any other illness is to hold on and trust in God that He will restore your health. If he’s done it for me, he could do it for you, just trust and believe in Him and He will. God Bless.

22 years old
Type of Lupus: SLE
Single
Date of Diagnosis: 3/05
No children