![]() I’d not think about it, not talk about it, not allow anyone to treat me differently because of it.Īs a young, black woman who was also a teenage single mother, I already knew what it was like to be judged based on misguided preconceptions. I was determined not to let lupus define me. Maya at her college graduation with her daughter. Don’t dwell on it, hold your head up, summon the strength to move through it and emerge on the other side. Countless times my mother had told me I could do anything I put my mind to, no matter the obstacles I might encounter. And I’m not sure it would have made much difference, because at that moment I was already moving into survivor mode. I didn’t know any of that when I was diagnosed. And for black women like me, lupus can be particularly cruel: The illness tends to take hold younger, so we’re forced to cope with it earlier and live with it longer, and tragically, our mortality rate is dramatically higher. Women of color are two to three times more likely to develop the disease. ![]() In the wake of my diagnosis I would eventually learn that lupus, an autoimmune disease in which the body literally attacks itself, had a special affinity for people like me. I’d been holding it all together-and now this? You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. I'd been striving hard to be the good student, the reliable employee, the perfect parent. I wasn't just trying to finish college while working full-time-I was also a single mom with a high-energy, precocious 4-year-old daughter. But now, with a disease whose calling card is chronic fatigue and flares triggered by stress, I started asking myself, can I still do it? All that time preparing, taking the LSAT, getting mentally ready for the grind of first-year-law-student life. I was planning to start law school in the fall. I was scared about the challenges this new diagnosis posed and how it threatened to upend my delicately balanced world.įear quickly gave way to frustration-I mean, really, the timing couldn’t have been worse. As I drove home, I replayed my doctor’s gentle but pointed explanation about symptoms I might experience: extreme fatigue, joint pain, organ damage, hair loss. My doctor diagnosed me with lupus-a medieval-sounding illness I’d never heard of before. I’d gone to see her because I had a strange rash on my face that wouldn’t go away no matter how much over-the-counter cortisone I used. I was 22, in my last semester at UC Berkeley, and I'd just left my doctor’s office. Donald Trump even largely promoted the drug during his coronavirus press briefings, and it led to a shortage of the medication.I could never have imagined this scenario when I decided to stay quiet so many years ago. Experts believed the drug could also relieve symptoms related to the coronavirus, though research since has proven otherwise. This diagnosis was not revealed until earlier this year when interest grew about the drug hydroxychloroquine, a prescription medication often used by Lupus sufferers. She was diagnosed with Lupus when she was in college, an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body’s own immune system attacks its tissues and organs. ![]() The younger Ms Harris got her taste in national politics by working as one of three senior policy advisors for Hillary Clinton‘s presidential campaign for the 2016 election.Īlthough in the public eye with the assistance of her politically prominent sister, there are aspects of the younger Ms Harris’ life that she has kept relatively private. ![]() Working in politics hasn’t just come alongside her sister in different campaigns. ![]()
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