Need a sick worker? I’m your girl!
If being sick was a requirement for a job I’d be a shoo-in.

Here are my credentials:
Eczema from grade school to early college that cause me to develop thick skin literally and figuratively and get called chocolate chip legs. Awesome.
Age 18: Ovarian cysts … hmmm that might have been TMI, lol.
Age 25: Teratoma, a rare mass of tissue that decided to take up residence in my body. Do NOT Google it. I repeat, do NOT. You will be grossed out. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Age 27 and my second year of marriage: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, aka lupus, with arthritis, night sweats, hair loss, steroid moon face and the like.
Age 30: Renal failure. End stage renal failure to be exact.

I got that news on March 15 and it’s surreal. Lupus can affect every part of the body, and in severe cases vital organs, like kidneys.  I haven’t yet concluded whether God is using this disease to strengthen me or to blast away at my “I can do it; I don’t need your help” attitude; 0r to give people with this disease a voice. Maybe it’s a mix of all three.

The irony is that I’m back in the unemployment boat. Yep. I was at my former company for a little over year before the CEO decided to nix the entire marketing department. Within 10 minutes of getting the news, I cleared my desk, listened to HR’s song and dance and was politely escorted off the property.

So as I gear up for the unnerving process of interviewing, I have to remember to talk up my skills and strengths and keep my having lupus quiet. I carry the anxiousness of getting a job to help sustain the household and get insurance to be well enough to function. I’m thankful to God and prayer keeps me grounded in it all. In a perfect world I wish I could fully disclose that I have lupus, but I can’t take the risk.