How to live with lupus

My Story: My Struggles and Victory in Living with SLE (Lupus)

Discharged From Hospital

After been discharged from the hospital, I had to return for weekly reviews, as I got better it became fortnightly then monthly. I was glad that my condition was getting better but I was also experiencing the side effects of the prednisolone. I got worried when I saw the puffiness on my face. Friends were also making comments like I have put on weight and my face looked different. I was quite upset and decided to stop taking my prednisolone.
That was a great mistake! I remembered the shocked look on the doctor’s face and I got reprimanded as the doctor explained the consequences that could have killed me.

I had no one to talk to about my fear, I did not know what I should do and I did not know where I could turn to for help. The things that kept me strong were my faith in God, the emotional support from my beloved fiance and friends who kept me in their prayers. (I was already engaged in 19th August 1990 before I had SLE)

The months that followed, I defaulted in my follow-up visits to the doctor. Despite my SLE condition, I went for a missions trip to the Philippines, again it nearly cost me my life. During my trip, I had to walk for miles under the hot sun, trekked through the thick jungles, climbed two mountains before I could reach the destination. In total, it took 3½ days to arrive in one of the mountain tribes of the Philippines. The mountain climbing was really tough! I remembered, the mountains were very steep and we had no ropes, you just had to hold on to anything you can find. Before we could reach our destination,
I was already thinking about the possibility of returning via the plane or any form of land transport i.e. horse, cow or whatever!

Mission accomplished via walking but itâ’s a different route altogether as we were headed toward another village. In all, I had been in the Philippines for almost three weeks and had finished what the team and I were sent to do. We headed back to HQ in the city and spent the last two days at the quarters before returning back to Singapore. Then I became very sick - I vomited, had fever and diarrhea, my pastor was ready to send me to a local hospital but I refused. I hanged on and made it back to Singapore. Thank God I survived!