My Story

Let me first start by introducing myself. My name is Nikki, I am 33 years old. I currently reside in Alabama. My story is one of heartaches, struggle, and determination. I have always faced health issues my entire life. I was diagnosed with the harshest version of lupus(SLE)in 1995 when I was 16 years old. I have almost died once from this disease. Lupus has a tendency to affect every organ in the body. As of right now there is no cure. I decided to start this blog in an effort to help others who have this disease or are also affected by end stage renal disease. I had been employed as a speech language pathologist since graduating in 2005, but have been off work since April 2011 due to not being able to return to work following a 34 day hospital and rehabilitation hospital stay back in February-March 2011. I was diagnosed with end stage renal disease (ESRD) in January 2011. My life was changed forever. I was placed on hemodialysis on January 18th, 2011. This process required having a catheter placed in my chest through a main artery which went straight to my heart. I then had to go to a dialysis clinic 3 times a week for 4 hours to have my blood cleaned of the toxins. I by far was the youngest person at my clinic, most people there were elderly patients. Can you imagine how I felt to have to have my whole life changed so drastically? This went on through February until around the 14th. I remember a little about that day. I remember my dad giving me a Valentine's Day card and a rose. Then I remember waking up weeks later at a local hospital in ICU with friends and family at my bedside. On my next entry I will explain exactly what happened.