‘Tis the season for doctors’ appointments. Tests. Treadmills. And, oh, the dreaded “fasting bloodwork.” It’s generally fairly exhausting, and I try not to schedule more than one appointment per day (though sometimes, life doesn’t work out this way).

Health news aside, my “season” has kicked of in an unexpectedly nice way. The first doctor on the line-up (Batter up!) opened up about his thoughts on lupus – and they are so wonderful, I have to spread the word. This doctor gets life with lupus. And his words of wisdom just might, I think, help us all help others get it, too.

Toward the end of the appointment, after my doc walked me through the frightfully complex, serious labrynth of science and patient-hood as it pertains to the problems with my retinas, I commented that it would be so much easier to be able to say to someone who doesn’t live with lupus and these other complicated autoimmune illnesses, “I broke my leg.” or, “I had a heart attack.”

Lupus and related problems are just so very intricate that it’s hard to make non-lupies understand.

Here’s how my doctor responded: “Watching someone live with lupus is like watching someone fight a war that’s going on inside of them. The lupus, or any serious autoimmune condition, is a war against yourself – an autoimmune process – and you fight that war every day. You try to look good and keep active, but it’s exhausting because you’re fighting that war all the time. I’ve seen people fight that war, and I’ve seen people with lupus die. I know just how hard, how serious it is.”

Oh, my, I could have hugged him!

It isn’t every day that you find a doctor or other healthcare professional who will get lupus and what it means to live the life of a lupie. I am blessed that this doctor and my other tremendously talented medical team members do get it. And I tell them how much I appreciate them every time I get the chance.

Thank you doctors, too, especially those who get what your life is like. And if you feel one or more of them, or anyone in your important inner circle doesn’t quite understand, I hope this post will help communicate the idea, at least in part.

Joy and peace,

Maureen