Holy Orange Bottles
“HOLY ORANGE BOTTLES” - just like how Taylor Swift’s song goes.
These are the orange bottles I’ve collected in the past couple of months. I’ve been popping pills like candy more than I would like. I wish they were candies. But my new reality is I have a team of over a dozen specialists looking after me. I have had numerous trips to the emergency - one via an ambulance. I’ve been admitted twice now - both for a week. I have lost count of how many tubes of blood they’ve drawn from me. Each time they draw blood, they poke me more than once because I have tiny veins and anxiety. My body has been through so much radiation. I have done a lot of scans and scopes. I love shooting with cameras but I would have never thought that I would have tiny cameras go inside my body.
On Tuesday, November 19th, 2019, I was officially diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus also known as SLE or simply Lupus. The doctors have described it as a disease of a thousand faces. Lupus is an autoimmune disease which means that my own immune system is attacking my healthy cells causing flare ups, extreme fatigue, difficulty in breathing, joint pains, muscle pains, inflammation, and swelling. I have to take immunosuppressants to manage my hyperactive immune system. I don’t look sick most of the time. I have good days and bad days. The disease could manifest both externally and internally. It could affect any of my internal organs at any given time. It’s very unpredictable.
I would have never thought I would wake up one day and be sick. Everyday, I fight for my health. Tomorrow is never promised. Life is a mist that appears for a little while and then it vanishes. I had plans. I had dreams. The truth is nothing is in our control even though we’d like to think so. The good news is I don’t need to be in control because I am not God. HE IS. He fights for me. He is in control. He is a good god. He knows what’s best for us. He is faithful. He is for us. Because of who God is, I know that I can trust Him.
Blessings,
🤍 A
