MYP Science teacher and 8th grade level leader Chelsea Skidd comes from New York City, and is currently in her 4th year teaching at AISB. Here she shares her personal story about battling lupus, an autoimmune disease, telling us how she has been dealing with it, as well as offering advice for trusting one’s instincts on matters of health.
What follows is Chelsea’s story, in her own words:
In October of 2015, I was officially diagnosed with Lupus. This news was a pretty life-changing experience. Before finding out I had lupus, my hands and feet were always cold, I had circulation issues, my hair was falling out in chunks, my iron levels were low, my joints started hurting, I had horrible headaches, and my fatigue was awful. I couldn’t get up sometimes which would lead me not to eat because I couldn’t move. I was lucky that my bloodwork and symptoms matched everything that lupus is, but not everybody is that lucky. I was young at the time I found out I had lupus. I feel like in your early 20’s you kind of feel invincible, and this put into perspective that I wasn’t. I started dealing with symptoms at 24 [years old]; I was supposed to be healthy, but I wasn’t. At first, I felt resentful, because you think, Why is this happening to me? The things that I was dealing with were very real, and getting an official diagnosis made me realize that I needed to live a little bit differently than others.
Lupus impacted my relationships a bit because it’s scary to share things like this with people. When Daniel, my partner, and I officially became a couple, that was something that I had to share with him because if we are together for the long term, which we are, he has to know. For example, if my kidneys fail, is he prepared to be at a hospital? Is he prepared to be my partner through everything I will be going through?
Facing this problem was hard, I need to keep a strict diet which can be frustrating sometimes; I have to keep track of my body and things that are happening to my body. Sometimes when I go through a flare-up, hopefully I can medicate before it gets to a full-on flare. I have to get blood work done every four months so it’s a time commitment. Everyone was very supportive when they found out I had lupus, and were relieved I figured out what all these symptoms meant, but before my diagnosis, people in the medical field people brushed me off—“Oh you’re not eating a good diet” or “You look healthy, though. Try exercising more.” When you tell them you do all the things they ask of you, then they think you are just crazy. In the medical field, I think we need to do more research regarding women’s health. If I was talking to my 24-year-old self, I would say that I’m proud of you. I didn’t take what 1,2,3,4 doctors said where they just brushed me off. I didn’t let that stop me until I found a doctor who listened to me and did the proper tests I needed. I’m proud I found that resilience.
My advice for people going through the same thing would be to trust your instincts about your body. Also, don’t be afraid to share it with people that you feel comfortable with because you would be surprised at the level of support that people will give.