Selena Gomez just recently admitted that her time in "rehab" was actually her time receiving chemotherapy for treating lupus. The tabloids played it off as some cliché story, explaining how she needed time away from her ex, Justin Bieber, when the reason was actually more serious than some lame fling she had.
People are reaching out to Gomez with their best wishes and condolences for what she is going through.
For those who don't know or understand, lupus is an autoimmune disease that attacks normal tissue, according to Lupus.org. This means it can attack every part of the human body without a known cause. It can become dormant, or it can rapidly take over the body--whichever way it wants to go, and there's no way of stopping it, either.
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Lupus has been around since 1948, when Mayo Clinic hematologist Malcolm Hargraves discovered the LE cell. It is not a very common disease, hence its lack of attention and lack of research.
It saddens me to think that it takes a celebrity for people to become more aware of this disease and even start to look into it only now, 67 years later. Imagine how the people affected must feel--the patients and their families.
My cousin, Antoinette Rosario, has been at war with this disease since 1997. She is happily married with two children at the ages of 10 and 11. She is actively a part of the Lupus Foundation of America and is trying everything to find herself at least in a comfortable state for once in her lifetime. Here is her story:
"I started with Lupus & antiphospholipid syndrome in 1997. I’ve since acquired angioedema, vasculitis, fibromyalgia, neuropathy, sarcoidosis, gastroparesis , Sjogren's syndrome, and its affected some major organs like my liver and spleen . I've had my share of surgeries, hospitalizations, infections like MRSA & been in a medically induced coma with pneumonia and staph infection. My family & friends have suffered right along with me. I'd like to go out and enjoy life like anyone else. Go out to simple things like dinner and a movie. Its not that simple. Currently my course of treatment is blood thinners, immunosuppressives, among many other pills, and also chemotherapy. Lupus is real. It's here and anyone can be affected. For some the symptoms aren't so bad and for others it can get close enough to death or death itself. My kids are used to seeing me sick or in the hospital mostly. My husband is an angel for always being by my side and both mom and dad to our 2 young children. My friends and family are a great support system. I'd like to be here more for my kids and do normal things moms do with their kids. I want to enjoy a longer life with my husband. We need better treatments. That's where you all come in. Write to your Congressmen. Ask for more funding. We need more research for more medications. Chemo can't be it. Lupus already has the ability to cause certain types of cancer, so does using chemo. So in trying to control one thing we cause another. I ask that we raise more awareness. It shouldn't take a celebrity to do that. Disease strikes everyone in some form, whether it be directly or by striking someone we love." - Antoinette Rosario
She concludes her bio with direction to her donation page, which I hope you, the reader of this article, would be so kind to be a supporter of.
I am telling you her story because I've witnessed what this disease has meant for her life since the age I was able to understand what it meant to be sick with a cold. It is a frightening disease that needs to be widely focused on, as closely as cancer is treated and studied upon today.
Think of not being able to be a part of your family to the fullest extent. Think of not being able to have a job or to take your kids to school every morning. Think about not ever being able to leave your house more than three times in a week. Think about not being able to communicate with the real world in real life situations, with people other than your family and friends.
Most of you might understand this through a relative, or friend battling with cancer. Replace cancer with lupus and there you go. That is how badly this disease can stop you from living your life to the fullest, a case which no one should have to go through.
