Lupus Awareness Month: How a Springs resident is living with lupus
“A lot of people still don’t know what it is and confuse it with leprosy,” says Kumari.
Kumari Ramiah has been living with lupus since 2007.
Lupus is an auto-immune disease in which your immune system attacks the healthy cells in your body.
There are different types of lupus and it is often misdiagnosed as it mimics different diseases.
Sufferers have flair-ups of pain and cannot predict when they will happen.
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Each patient has different symptoms and life expectancy differs for each patient.
For Kumari, who has systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the disease initially appeared as a wart on her thumb.
“I was working as a consultant at the time and I had a burning sensation in my fingers.
“It was on and off and my doctor ordered blood tests and that’s how I was diagnosed,” says Kumari.
Kumari, who also has a thyroid problem, says her treatment depends on her symptoms as they appear.
Living with lupus comes with certain challenges for Kumari as it is unpredictable and there are misconceptions people have about the disease.
“After asking me if it’s contagious, they always confuse it with leprosy.
“I have found that more and more people are becoming aware of it and I’ve even seen men getting it now, which was uncommon when I was first diagnosed,” says Kumari.
Due to the debilitating nature of the disease, Kumari is now on permanent disability.
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“You can’t let something like this get you down, you have to be positive.
“My daughter Kylie, was a miracle baby as I was initially told I would not be able to have a baby.
“My family has been so supportive and that support system makes a big difference,” says Kumari.
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