Lupus Detention House May 2026

When you look healthy on the outside, but your kidneys are staging a revolt on the inside, people don't see a prisoner. They see someone who "doesn't look sick." They see a lazy person who cancels plans. They see a flake.

For the uninitiated, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease. In plain English: my immune system, the very guard dog meant to protect me from intruders (viruses, bacteria, infections), has gone rogue. It can no longer tell the difference between a foreign invader and my own tissue.

But you can change the nature of the sentence. Over the years, I have learned that while I cannot unlock the cell door, I can paint the walls. lupus detention house

We didn't commit a crime. We didn't choose this holding cell. But as long as we are stuck here, we might as well be the loudest, most obnoxious inmates on the block.

So, you stop explaining. You retreat to the isolation wing of your own bedroom. You watch your friends live their lives through a phone screen while you lie perfectly still, trying to convince your own blood to stop attacking your heart lining (pericarditis). Every detention house has guards. Mine are orange vials. When you look healthy on the outside, but

Yesterday, I was granted "yard time"—I went for a 20-minute walk in the sun. Today, because of photosensitivity, the sun is the enemy. The fluorescent lights in the grocery store trigger a migraine. The meal they serve (a delicious, healthy salad) contains alfalfa sprouts, which can trigger a flare.

Plaquenil (Hydroxychloroquine) is the silent guard. It stands in the corner, doing its job quietly, trying to calm the riot. I don't see it working, but I know the horror stories of what happens when it leaves. For the uninitiated, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is

I am grateful for the guards. But I do not trust them. You might be wondering: Why stay? Why not escape?