Chemo Is Not Just For Cancer

It surprises me how people do not realize that just because you are getting treated with chemotherapy does not mean you have cancer. Chemotherapy is actually used to treat some autoimmune diseases as well, until you have to enter the last resort, like dialysis. Every time I had chemotherapy, it was to treat my kidney failure that occurred twice.

I have met people that had chronic kidney failure and were currently in stage 5. They had dialysis while waiting on their body to be able to take the transplant and it never happens. It breaks my heart that it never does because they wake up every morning determined to survive another day. This caused me not to complain even when I feel like I am going through the worst and to always treat people in a positive way because you do not know what they are going through.

Meeting others who also live with CKD

I have met someone that was going through chronic kidney failure and she was a teenager. She needed a caregiver and had no help. Having a support system matters and she didn't seem to have one. She would ride to the hospital by herself in a ambulance and no one was with her. Her being diagnosed with kidney failure, it surprised me that no one cared to worry about this young child.

She ended up passing away at the age of 16 due to lupus taking over and her kidneys completely failed. I wish sometimes when I used to go see her, I could have made decisions for her to help her but I was not her family and I could not voice my concern at all. It seemed that me going there to support her was all that she needed. I met another friend who was waiting on her mothers kidney, but her body never came to the point to where she could handle the transplant.

Watching these people go through these things and a smile never leave their face gave me hope. It helped me to determine that I was here to fight.

The drive to keep pushing

So, sometimes I have to explain to people, yes, chemotherapy drugs and dialysis can be used on someone with a autoimmune disease. Then they ask, well is lupus cancer? It has not been labeled as such so, no, its just an autoimmune disease. Some people that ask these questions actually are nurses and been in the field for years and do not know much about lupus or lupus nephritis.

The fun thing is when you come across those who are willing to learn. What is stressful is coming across those who are judgmental and judge people off of others' experience. Everyone's experience is not the same and shouldn’t be treated or judged as such.

Experiencing these things and having other people around me experience the same thing in different ways just gave me the drive to keep pushing.