The story of Sandy
Sometimes you can not have any symptoms until your late twenties, sometimes it’s not something you have had to deal with since childhood. That was my case, a streptococcal infection set off in me my Henoch Schonlein’s. It’s more rare in adults than children, that was me, against the odds. It’s more frequent in males than females, that was me, against the odds. Usually it can only happen once in your life, that was me, against the odds. Three times now in six years and recurring symptoms when least expected. My immune system is a traitor, right now, it’s causing my kidneys to filter protein when they shouldn’t. My disorder can cause permanent damage to my kidneys, it haunts me sometimes. Even though I know there are worse, way worse diseases, sometimes I feel bad about myself, and bad about feeling bad, because I know I could have it worse. It’s always there, for a year after the first time I lived in fear of having another episode, then I kind of went back to my life after five months of practically stopping time; then four years after, it happened again: that’s when I knew I would have to live with this forever… or not. I just can’t know. Then the joint pain and the petechiae kick in and I fear for my kidney health and the suffering I went through the first time. It is painful, it is exhausting, it changes your personality, I had to be prescribed with antidepresants for the mental toll it also took on me.
I didn’t know it was a rare disease.