Hi my name is Brooke, I am 11 years old and was diagnosed with Lupus (SLE) when I was 9.  At first I had little sores on my fingers and toes that wouldn’t go away. Then I started to get a rash across my face and my ears.  I also started to feel tired all the time and just a little unwell.  My mum took me to  many different doctors and they didn’t know what it was until after 6 months one doctor sent me to a dermatologist.  The dermatologist did a lot of tests and told me I had Lupus.  I felt confused, scared and didn’t know what was happening.  This doctor sent me to my specialist a Rheumatologist and the next minute I was in hospital, with needles and medication and lots of blood tests.

I now take alot of tablets a day and at first this was very hard as I couldn’t swallow the tablets whole so my mum whould crush them up for me.  But now I can take tablets with no problems as I am so use to it.  I have had lots of days where I feel sick but I still try to do everything that all other kids do.  Sometimes though I just have to rest but I have Lupus for ever.

Brooke’s mother Melissa writes – I was not that worried about any of Brooke’s symptoms at the time as I could have put it down to a lot of different minor issues on the outside but didn’t know what was going on in the inside, until we were told that it was Lupus.  Initially Brooke had anaemia, malar rash, vasculitis on her fingers and toes, blood disorders, and autoimmune hepatitis.  Luckily we were sent to the right doctor and Brooke was treated within a week of being diagnosed.

Obviously this was a huge shock for all our family and we didn’t know where to turn, so we were just relying on the information provided by the doctors.  After initial treatment, and ongoing treatment we have had numerous days of Brooke not 100% and most of the time with nausea.  Brooke has changed medications several times with the hope of the getting her stable.

Despite all this Brooke has been a tower of strength and still wants to particpate in all sports as she is a keen sports person.  She has achieved many ribbons and medals for competitve swimming and also has done quite well with sprinting.  She has told me several times “Suck it up mummy, if I can do this you can” which of course pulls me together. I can only say that she is a well adapted child with a positive attitude that can out do alot of adults. This will not beat her.

Brooke is our resident ‘Just for Kids’ writer. At 11 years of age, Brooke is an inspiration to all, facing and conquering obstacles that many others would not be able to overcome. We applaud Brooke’s courage and positive outlook on life and thank her raising lupus awareness. Keep on shining Brooke!