Be Careful What You Wish For....
From as far back as I remember, I wanted rosy cheeks. I would stare at girls with beautiful, rosy cheeks & was so jealous for my pale cheeks with no color. They looked so healthy & just glowed. I used to pray that my cheeks would look like theirs. But it never happened and it was a long forgotten desire until I was diagnosed with Lupus SLE in October, 2005. I remember it was the first symptom that caused me concern. I had long lived with the bone dead fatigue, daily muscle aches & occasional flare ups of severe hives & rashes. I wrote things off to a stressful job, busy home life, being a new mom, etc. I could explain it all away. But when I got a red rash on my cheeks that didn't go away in a few weeks, I went to the doctor. When he referred me to a dermatologist, I blew it off. I figured it wasn't that serious. The rash wouldn't let me ignore it for long, though. It started slowly but consistently getting bigger, people began to ask me about it and at a revisit to the doctor for my husband's cracked ribs, he asked me how the appointment went. When I told him I still hadn't called the dermatologist, he stressed the importance of it. So I scheduled the appointment & a biopsy led to my diagnosis.
Since then, the rash has never disappeared. It spreads across my cheeks and on the bridge of my nose. It's called a malar rash. It is also attributed to the origin of the term lupus erythematosus. Lupus is Latin for wolf and "erythro" is Greek for red. Is it depressing? Sure. Is it ironic? Definitely. It is the first and last things I see when I look in the mirror. My permanent reminder that I am not normal and of my body's ongoing daily battle with this disease - my rosy, rosy cheeks.
As I said, be careful what you wish for...
Since then, the rash has never disappeared. It spreads across my cheeks and on the bridge of my nose. It's called a malar rash. It is also attributed to the origin of the term lupus erythematosus. Lupus is Latin for wolf and "erythro" is Greek for red. Is it depressing? Sure. Is it ironic? Definitely. It is the first and last things I see when I look in the mirror. My permanent reminder that I am not normal and of my body's ongoing daily battle with this disease - my rosy, rosy cheeks.
As I said, be careful what you wish for...
I never knew a rash to be a symptom of lupus, at least not on the face. I have heard of the body aches mainly, as my best friend was diagnose with lupus three years ago. Things have been alright for her. At first she was a little depressed, but I; amongst other friends kept her motivated to see the glass half full rather than half empty!
Lacy
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