What do you do with LUPUS?

Some may ask but most don't. "What exactly is Lupus", I see it on their faces.
I'm sick everyday. That's how I live. It's maybe not the life I imagined, but I make it work for me.
I make up the beds every morning, and I cringe as my wrists scream out in flames.

It's an illness that wishes not to be disturbed or questioned, and most of all doubted.
I have won many battles over Lupus. I fight in silence and each victory leaves an unsightly scar.
I wear each scar on my body, always as a reminder that the good days are a tease and the bad days an omen.

I can tell you for sure that there is not much you can do with Lupus.
I've tried running with Lupus.
I've tried crying with Lupus.
I've tried tanning with Lupus.
I've tried leaving Lupus behind.

What I have certianly learned in the last twenty years is that I am not doomed.
With every hiccup, I learn something new.
And most of all, the only approach that works is rolling with the punches.
As new pains come, old ones leave the body. The cycle of lupus continues, through the seasons and the hair styles, I remain a warrior, in this lifetime, I accept the challenge.

The only pain I can't bare, is the one of leaving too soon. Like so many, lately, taken suddenly, with loved ones left in shock.
The pain of leaving it all behind, the smiles, the laughter and the hugs.