Dear Lupus - Southern Illinois Photographer

All great friends ships start with a funny story.....and this one starts with me threatening Laura with a steak knife at a local restaurant.  :)  It was all in good fun...no actual threats to anyones safety were made.  LOL  But that was our first meeting and I'm pretty sure neither of us will forget it.

This is my friend Laura.  She is the incredibly talented and gorgeous face behind Esther Bloom Photography.  She has Lupus.  Lupus, however does not have her!

I have been able to watch a small portion of her journey with this auto-immune disease, and all I can say is she is one of the strongest people I know.  Really there are no words that would rightfully do her strength justice.

She asked me to go with her to one of her infusion appointments (which is basically chemo) and document this part of her life.  So I did...and then it turned into a shoot of her.

She has a very positive outlook on her diagnosis and where it is taking her in her life, and she wants to spread that to people who have this same disease who may not necessarily see the positives. Again, with the strength...I just can't even.  Anyway....She is also working to bring more awareness to this disease.

Read down further for a letter that she wrote....titled "Dear Lupus"

 

Dear Lupus,

 You came uninvited like the selfish thief you are. You silently invaded my body and my life with no mercy. You have stolen my life's work, my health, and my hair…you’ve also shaken my joy and self-esteem.

 However, these things do not define me. I am more than my work, and by His wounds I have been healed. I will continue to rise again because I will keep my hope in the One Most High. He will renew my strength and my joy. Lupus, you have caused me unbearable pain at times, but you will never get my soul...and for that I want to thank you. I thank you because you have shown me I can rise above it all. You’ve shown me I am stronger than I ever knew. You’ve helped prove to myself that I am a fighter and a survivor.

 So I may not like you, but I want to say thank you. Thank you for this life I've been given, even if it's harder than I would like it to be sometimes. Because when it is hard, I'm reminded that I’ve been blessed with the most supportive friends and family imaginable. Although I wish I could give my husband so much more, he never makes me feel like I'm not enough. He is the first to tell me I'm beautiful, even when I have no hair or when I don't get the medical results I would prefer.

He is the most devoted man and would do anything he could if it meant I wouldn't have to deal with Lupus any longer.

My family has been by my side from the beginning. They never doubt my strength, even when I question myself on the days during treatments, infusions, chemo, and appointments.

To say that I have the very best by my side is an understatement. My friends constantly encourage me and make me laugh so that I can focus on anything and everything besides you, lupus.

 But here’s the real kicker. The biggest reason why I’ve always hated you is because I don’t want you to affect my relationship with my son. I watch his expressions and my hear breaks in response to his.  I want so badly to be cured just so that he and my loved ones wouldn't hurt.

I don't want him to view me as weak. But you will be disheartened to know that the only thing you have done is make us closer. My son is a prayer warrior and believes in Devine healing, despite what you try to take from us. He recently told me, "One day when we get to heaven, all this pain will be gone because there is no lupus in heaven. Aren't you excited mom? We can run and play together!"

 So you see, lupus, you cannot break his spirit. And you most certainly will not break mine. Even a child knows that lupus will not win in the end.