Privacy Statement
The Lupus Lady's Autoimmune Disease Support Site repects your privacy and assures you that any and all information given to this site by e-mail or any other way will be kept confidential and will not be sold or otherwise disclosed to any third parties.
Living With Chronic Illness ~
Thriving in the face of adversity!
Autoimmune Disease Support
"Where friends gather for tea and comfort!" Most of all, this is a place for solutions!
People often get little or no support after receiving the diagnosis of an
autoimmune disease. The diagnosis itself can take years to get. After so much time spent going from doctor to doctor, taking test after test, A person can easily lose hope. I pick up where the diagnosis leaves off by offering the
information, comfort, and the support people need to adjust to their "new", often terrifying, life.
This page is for those of us who live with a chronic illness or disability. It's a place to find inspiration, information, encouragement, and ideas! Learn about me and my journey, research your illness through my many links, or leave a message in one of my many forums. I encourage you to record the positive things you have discovered, how you have dealt with an aspect of your illness, the very solution someone else may be searching desperately for!
Who is "The Lupus Lady?"
I am a person who has been given a wonderful gift! I have been brought to a place where I was able to see
very clearly what really matters in life and what does not!
Hi! My name is Colleen. I am the mother of two wonderful children; Bethany age 17 and Adam age 12.
I live in a small Texas town (though I was born and raised in New York) with my kids and my husband of four years, Darryl.
Doctors tell me I have had Autoimmune problems all my life but they were not diagnosed for many years. I lived a long time as
a sickly, unhealthy, and confused person. No two doctors gave me the same answer.
Finally, when I was pregnant with my second child, my health deteriorated to the point that I was on complete bed rest - yet I still
almost lost my son. I was then diagnosed with several autoimmune diseases, the major one being Lupus. From there I
started the long nightmare years: trying to find a good doctor, making people understand I was sick even though
they couldn't see it, getting my work to understand my new needs and limitations, and getting support and understanding
from friends and family. I needed to find out how to take care of myself, what Lupus was, and what it was going to do
to me. I needed to know if I had a life left - and if I did - what good, if any, there would be in it.
I survived those long years filled with pain, humiliation, despair, depression and anger. I came out the other side of
my darkness a much better person for having made the journey. Because of what I have been through, I am committed to
making a difference in the world, to making sure no one has to live through what I did - or live through it alone - and
to motivating and equipping others to do the same for any chronically ill person they may know.
This site holds an ever expanding wealth of resources. You can read my story, get help and
encouragement, join the new email support loop, post on the bulletin board, request the nutritional reports,
and a world of other things. Look through the links at the left and feel
free to email me with any suggestions for things you would like me to
cover on this site! I am always open to suggestions!
God has so richly blessed me that I am now compelled to humbly
"pay it forward". To make a significant difference in the quality of life lived by chronically ill people. Someone
helped me, now I am obligated to help others as well.
I pray that my journey will have an impact on your life. That my experiences will make a real difference in your
journey to health, your attitude, family life, self image, relationships, lifestyle, finances, and spiritually.
Note: Information provided at this web site is of a general nature and is not intended to take
the place of a physician's adivice It is vital that persons diagnosed with, or suspected of having,
an autoimmune disease consult with their physician or with the appropriate division at a major
teaching hospital, to assure proper evaluation, treatment and interpretation of information
contained on this site.
We say: "I can't go on", God says: "My grace is sufficient" (II Cor. 12:9 & Psalm 91:15)
We say: "I can't manage", God says: "I will supply all your needs" (Phillippians 4:19)
We say: "I'm not able", God says: "I am able" (II Cor. 9:8)
