My name is Karey Gelrud. I was diagnosed with lupus, 29 days before my 21st birthday, back in 2009. I started with severe joint pain, which spread to my joints, and it worsened to the point where I couldn’t walk, and I was extremely weak. My mom called her friend, a Nurse Practitioner, who ran a multitude of tests.
The test popped positive for my ANA and various other markers. With that, I was sent to Dr. Terrence Dwyer, a Rheumatologist who gave me the proper diagnosis of SLE. I was also diagnosed with critical kidney involvement as well. I was put on Plaquenil, and it didn’t work, then Methotrexate, which also made me very ill. I received the most benefits from CellCept, which I've been on for about 12 years.
My lupus recently came out of remission after 5 years, but I’m a fighter, so I will fight again! Through the challenges, I still fight on for a better tomorrow.
Thank you for allowing me to share my story.