Facing lupus with spiritual life supports

National Catholic Reporter, Nov 19, 2004 by Arthur Jones

"That I would have lupus, that I would have the experience of St. Eugene's is no accident," said Pratt. "That all of this has sort of coalesced. New statistics reflect that probably one in 500 African-American women has lupus, compared to one in 2,000 Americans. generally. I can be with the African-American community as fluently as with others. God always gave me the gift of communication.

"And when he gave me lupus he really brought all these gifts and skills together," she said. "The thing that drives me on is that I do believe each of us really does have gifts, and we need to use them. Finding the way all these come together is a wondrous thing."

Especially when they can be gathered together as plants, and arranged in a garden where they can, however carefully, turn their faces to the sun.

Excerpt from Peace in the Storm

At this very harrowing crossroads, you have a choice to make. If you want to continue in stark loneliness, you will continue to dwell on it, let it chase you down and tear you apart. But if you want to forge your courage in the face of adversity, and rise above despair to some place better, you need to call upon something deeper and closer to your heart and soul than your very human loneliness.

You need to call upon the Lord.

Look inward and breathe deeply. Ask for strength.

Lord, there is an emptiness in me that cries out for you.

There are feelings within me of utter loneliness,

As if the whole world has abandoned me.

Take away my despair and let me feel your comforting hand upon me.

From Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain and Illness by Maureen Pratt (Doubleday. 2005)

Facts on lupus

Systemic lupus erythematosus, commonly know as lupus, is a prototype Of an autoimmune disease in which the body's defense against infection and tumors mediated by the white cells in the blood turns against and attempts to destroy various organs in the body. Since there is no single symptom, sign or test that can reliably identify every single lupus patient, the physician must rely on the presence of a combination of symptoms signs and tests called "criteria" to establish the diagnosis. Since these signs are often found months or years apart, it often takes years and visits to many doctors before a diagnosis of lupus is established. The majority of the approximately 2.5 million lupus patients in the United States are women in their reproductive years.

From Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your Life by Maureen Pratt and David Hallegua, MD (New American Library, 2002)

[Arthur Jones is NCR editor at large. His email address is arthurjones@comcast.net.]