Things That I Really Enjoy:
Wines: I have a love for Savignons, Burgandys, and Sangrias.
Cigars: Magnums and Generals(These are almost two feet long!!),
Licencinados, even some Manduro brands. Holt's is one of
my favorite distributors.
Music: Classical Music, Alternative/Industrial, Brazilian/Samba, Celtic/Irish,
New Age Music, and Wiccan Magick Music.
More About Me!
I have a disability. It is known as Systemic Lupus Euramatosis (SLE). Lupus for
short. Usually women develop Lupus, but some men are prone to it as well. I was
diagnosed with Lupus in May 1995 even though I had previously been diagnosed with
everything from Stress Disorder to Urinary Tract Infection. I spent most of that year
in the hospital battling seizure disorder and pnuemonia.
My other hospital visits included monthly treatments for Lupus Nephritis. This
is a form of Lupus that affects the kidneys. The commonly used treatment is called
cytaxin. It is a form of chemotherapy that can only be prescribed by a cancer physician.
This by no way means that Lupus is a form of cancer. It just means what is used by
cancer patients can be used for other illnesses and disorders.
Friends thought I had a variety of illnesses when I was discovered to be absent
from the places I use to hang out. It is amazing how assumptions and speculations
become rumors! I had well-meaning people come of and ask me if I had Hodgkins or any form of camcer.
I also had some uneducated individuals inquire about me, some wondering if I had cancer!
When I recovered enough to go out in public, I put to rest all these rumors and
innuendos about my illness. I had a few people still ask if my illness was HIV related.
It isn't related because it is a genetic disorder. You can develop Lupus only if
it runs in your family. The only known relative in my family who did develop
Lupus was my great-uncle on my dad's side of the family (his mother or my grandmother's
brother). It is rare for men to develop Lupus, because women are more common sufferers.
Black (African-American) women are more likely to develop the disease with Hispanic
women coming up a close second.
What is it like to be a man with Lupus?
I have been asked that so many times.
I deal with the fact that I cannot stay out in extreme heat. If I do, then a
seizure is bound to come. In fact, anything stressful will also trigure seizure
episodes. In September and November 1999, I had hip replacement surgery in both
hips. That was the price paid for one of the medications I had taken , Prednisone.
I've come around since the surgeries and can walk around like normal. But I can't dance
like I used to. I can't sit Indian style or do certain forms of yoga. And I suffer
from arthritis really bad. I went through bouts of manic depression, and mood swings
worse than a woman on her period. Some of those times took place after my cytaxin
treatments. I have had thoughts of ending it all because of the dificulties I was
having. But things do happen when you find someone in your life to help you go through
the worst of times. And I found another bunch of friends
like myself who gone through the same things. And we all have one thing
in common....WE ALL AIM TO SURVIVE. And we will.....
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