I remember that moment as I entered the church’s office six years ago. I can feel the cold air because of the air condition, smelled the scent of an air freshener, and saw the plastic flowers at the four corners of the room as a decoration. Everyone was praying, encircling someone while the pastors were laying their hands at the center and a woman was crying near them. I looked closer and I saw an 11-year-old girl in the midst. Her face was bloated, her skin was pale white, and she has rashes on her cheeks running to her nose bridge to her another cheek. I heard from someone inside the room “She is sick. She has lupus.”
Systemic Lupus Erythematous or simply known as Lupus is a disease of the immune system. Instead of protecting the body from infection, the immune system of a person who has lupus will abnormally attack tissues in various parts of the body that leads to tissue damage and illness.
Andrea, a 17-year-old girl living in Imus City, a pastor’s kid and also one of the first batches of K-12, though she has a perfect life until she was diagnosed with lupus. Her father is a Pastor, her mother is a part-time businesswoman, her sister is an Architecture student and she has a little brother.
Way back in 2010, Andrea’s family had a summer vacation. After swimming, they went home and she started feeling weak. She thought that it was because she spent too many hours in the pool with her siblings. “Puro tulog lang ako. So akala ko pagod lang talaga ako kasi galing nga swimming.” Then rashes started to appear on her cheeks and they thought it was just an ordinary sunburn. They did not pay attention to it. A few days later, she became massively weak and she started to lose weight because she suddenly lost her appetite. And because of that, her father decided to bring her to the hospital.
“Unang tingin palang sa akin ng doctor sinabi na niya na lupus daw ang sakit ko dahil daw sa malar rash.” Malar rash is the redness that appears over the cheeks and the bridge of the nose, it is also called “butterfly” rash. Andrea had undergone some laboratory tests and confirmed that she has lupus.
Her family was shocked and her mom started crying inside the clinic. Her sickness brought negative effect emotionally to her family and relatives. The cause of lupus was unknown. Factors that may contribute to the development of lupus include viruses, environmental chemicals, and a person’s genetic makeup. There is no cure for this disease, but there are some prescription medications. The symptoms generally improve after the drug is discontinued.
At a very young age, Andrea told me that she couldn’t understand her situation at first. She couldn’t even admit that she is sick. “Unang pumasok sa isip ko, bakit ako pa? Ang dami namang ibang tao diyan. Nagse-serve naman ako Lord, active naman ako sa church. Bakit ako pa?” This girl is too young, innocent, and fragile to be on this condition. “Natakot pa ako noon dahil wala daw itong cure.”
Her hemoglobin’s low and also her white blood cells. The mark of all the pain she went through is very visible on her skin. “Minsan bigla nalang sasakit itong sa may balat ko tapos mawawala narin naman basta may gamot. Kaso nag mamarka siya. Paminsan naman may bigla nalang sasakit sa akin. Mommy mommy! Yun yung sinisigaw ko kasi nasasaktan talaga ako.”
Lupus has a big emotional impact on Andrea. She soon developed an eating disorder that made her anorexic and became depressed. Out of all these things, her family and relatives supported and took good care of her better than before.
There was a big change in Andrea’s life. There were a lot of things she can do if she’s not sick. “Noong wala pa akong lupus nakakabilad ako sa arawan at walang iniinom na gamot.” Based on her statements, Lupus cannot be cured completely. In short, her medication is a lifetime. She needs to take medicines daily of her life to feel comfortable and live longer.
That moment she knew about her health condition, became the most memorable moment for her. “Doon ko nakita na mahal talaga ako ng magulang ko at mahal ako ni Lord.” She also added “Na-realize ko na kaya nangyari to kasi mahal ako ni Lord. Alam kong may dahilan si Lord kaya nangyari sa akin ito. Gusto pa ni Lord na mas makilala ko siya at lumapit ako sa kanya.”
Stay strong and trust in the Lord. That is what she told me. She’s always telling me that God has a reason why she is sick. She sees God’s providence in every aspect of her life out of all these circumstances. I was astonished by this girl’s bravery. She lives as if she were David, one of the Bible character, fighting Goliath.
For Andrea, lupus is just lupus. It is not her life and lupus won’t stop her from dreaming and believing. Instead, she told me that lupus is the reason why she became stronger.