8 Lessons Lupus Taught Me
From Surviving to Thriving with Autoimmune Diseases
by
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To understand my confident decline to the traditional standard approach to Lupus and Autoimmune Diseases I’ll take you back a few years to 2008. I’ll share this part of my story in more detail in Lesson 2 but for the sake of continuity in this history you need to know that fruits and vegetables in a capsule changed my life and became a catalyst on this journey, before I even knew I was on the Autoimmune Highway. What I was experiencing as a miracle of healing my Rheumatoid Arthritis became much more than that as I continued to read everything I could get my hands on about nutritional healing and cellular health. I had learned that I was constantly growing ALL new cells in my body and I could either make healthy cells or sick cells based on the choices I made about how I fed those cells. When I returned home from the doctor’s office, I had confidence that I was already on the road to healing and that this was not new. As I researched Lupus and Lichen Planus I went through a number of feelings and reactions from fear to realization and even facing mortality. I realized that I DID in fact have the diseases she had diagnosed but when I looked back at what I now recognized as the cyclical nature of flare ups in autoimmune I could trace it all the way back to 1999. I had lived with Lupus symptoms undiagnosed for 12 years. Only the Lichen Planus was new to me. Then I realized that maybe the Rheumatoid Arthritis diagnosis was incorrect; maybe it was just the pain of Lupus, and I had it even longer. Further study and living in my body with awareness now helped to me to recognize the difference between the Arthritis pain and the Lupus pain, they are distinct and different. So fast forward to 2017 when I finally complete my story, or at least complete it for now. Maybe it’s just a status update with the lessons that the autoimmune diseases have taught me (so far). Lessons that I by no means expected to learn and hope to share with others to ease their suffering or possibly offer hope and guidance. Lessons that I wish I would have found on the internet when I was researching Lupus; because it was terrifying, and not at all hopeful, to receive these diagnoses and to see the pain and suffering and death in the literature and “support groups”. I have maintained my health and vitality since late 2008 with very few prescription medications, and then only for brief periods. I no longer have the chronic infections or debilitating flares that leave me in bed recovering for weeks and even months. I have not been cured of Rheumatoid Arthritis, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, or Oral Lichen Planus but I do manage them very effectively so that most people have no idea I have any disease let alone this lovely trio. These are the 8 Lessons Lupus taught me. They are not the only lessons but they have been the most surprising and transformational for me. They are the lessons that have helped me reclaim my life and my destiny. You may notice some overlap within the lessons or some circling back. Unfortunately, I can be strong willed or slow to learn a lesson and so it will resurface in another way or at another time. Ultimately, the repetition gets through to me and clarity and change finally follow. I hope you enjoy the journey and find hope in healing and transformation.
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About the Book
Written as a narrative short story, CallyRae shares her candid insights as she journeys through surviving with autoimmune diseases. Suffering from chronic daily pain, infections, and extreme fatigue, her outlook was one of frustration and hopelessness. As her life journey down the autoimmune highway took twists and turns, she learned to read the signs and listen to her body, mind, and spirit. She continues on the journey but has replaced pain with vitality, infections with health, and extreme fatigue with immense energy. Her outlook is now one of hope and happiness, and she considers herself blessed to live with the autoimmune diseases of rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and oral lichen planus. She no longer suffers and survives but rather thrives and shares hope and inspiration to those who are looking for a better healthier way to live.
About the Author
CallyRae is best known for her professional accomplishments as a Speech Language Pathologist and her specialized treatment of tongue thrust as the creator and author of the “Stone Tongue Thrust Protocol: A Protocol for the Assessment and Treatment of Tongue Thrust”. She gets satisfaction out of telling her childhood teachers that she found a way to make her “talking too much in class” pay off! Now she not only gets paid for talking but also for teaching others to do the same. Through her transformation journey with Autoimmune Diseases, CallyRae found another passion through inspiring healthy living. Inspiring hope where there is hopelessness, confidence where there is fear, and joy where there is sadness has led her to transformation coaching with a lifestyle focus. Whether as a Speech Language Pathologist or a Transformation Coach, CallyRae is innovative and eclectic. She loves to encourage and educate people about their potential and give them the tools to strive for more. She seems to gravitate to the challenges and seek for the solution. Whether it is a patient with a brain injury trying to rebuild their cognition; a student struggling to learn how to teach a complex client a new skill; or an individual who has given up because of their frustration with life: CallyRae will find a solution and offer hope. You can follow CallyRae on social media for inspiration and ideas through her coaching page https://www.facebook.com/CallyRae2 or callystone1 on Instagram.