Lupus sufferer has had to to relearn to walk THREE times

What began as childhood sore throat became a lifelong battle with chronic disease for 25-year-old Chandra Crosby.  

Chandra came down with strep throat when she was eight. The illness is common and easily cured after a few days – but not for Chandra. 

Strep seemed to trigger inflammation in her legs. Soon, Chandra was in excruciating pain and couldn’t even walk. 

After she was admitted to the hospital near her home in Saint George, Utah, it still took weeks before she was ultimately transferred and diagnosed. 

Chandra has lupus, an autoimmune disease she fights on a daily basis. Some days she feels like she can conquer the world, and during her worst flare ups she can scarcely move. 

But Chandra is determined to defy her disease, pursuing a career as a police dispatcher, starting her own Lupus-inspired clothing line and raising awareness of the condition through her Instagram account. 

Chandra Crosby, 25, has been hospitalized twice in the last  year due to flare ups of lupus that she has been fighting since the disease was triggered by a bout of strep throat when she was 8

Ever since her diagnosis, Chandra has been on high doses to try to control her symptoms. 

She receives infusions of Rituxan, an antibody treatment sometimes given with chemo or to treat arthritis, every five months as well as anti-inflammatory medication daily.

To combat her symptoms, she eats a healthy whole food diet and takes CBD oil daily, all of which is supposed to diminish the inflammation that plagues Chandra. 

Determined not to be defined by her condition, Chandra wants to help people feel confident in their bodies even if they can’t control their physical appearance. 

This positive attitude has helped see Chandra through two difficult flare ups this last year that have left her bed bound in the hospital.

Some days, lupus leaves Chandra bedridden. On others, she models the lupus-inspired clothing line she founded 

Some days, lupus leaves Chandra bedridden. On others, she models the lupus-inspired clothing line she founded 

Like many lupus patients, including Selena Gomez, flare ups sometimes cause her extremities to go numb and can even shut down her respiratory system.  

Lupus is a complicated and poorly understood disease. 

We know that it involves a kind of immune system glitch, so that systems meant to fight infection in the body instead attack the body itself.  

The strikes of misguided antibodies cause inflammation pain and damage to various tissues and joints throughout the body. 

For some it causes uncomfortable but manageable inflammation and fatigue. For others it is debilitating. 

Flare ups may be every few days for some, or only once or twice a year – and there is no way to be sure how long they might last.  

‘I got strep throat when I was seven years old, I ended up having debilitating pain in my legs and feet and I was unable to walk. I was admitted to the hospital and my condition started to progress and I was in horrific pain all over,’ explained Chandra.

It isn’t clear what exactly causes lupus, or why things that seem to trigger it – including viral infections, like strep, hormonal changes like women go through in puberty or after childbirth or menopause – don’t lead to the disease in most people. 

Lupus can be managed, with varying degrees of success, but is not curable.  

When it first set in for Chandra, ‘pain medication wouldn’t work, I was swollen and having inflammation in my legs, feet, arms, and hands,’ she said.  

Lupus has left Chandra wheelchair bound several times since her diagnosis at just eight 

Lupus has left Chandra wheelchair bound several times since her diagnosis at just eight 

During her hospitalizations this last year, Chandra has opened up on Instagram in the hopes that her story can motivate others and make them feel less alone 

During her hospitalizations this last year, Chandra has opened up on Instagram in the hopes that her story can motivate others and make them feel less alone 

‘The doctors couldn’t come up with a diagnosis and I had an allergic reaction to an IV treatment they tried to give and at that point they decided to transport me to a hospital in Las Vegas to a children’s ICU.’ 

Chandra was too ill to eat, and the then eight-year-old’s weight plummeted dangerously low.  

‘I had doctors from all over the country trying to diagnose me and run tests and nothing was matching my symptoms … I weighed about 60 lbs which was almost half my normal body weight,’ Chandra said. 

‘I was unable to move on my own and the pain was still unbearable, finally a doctor from the University of Utah came to my rescue. He studied autoimmune disorders and found that I had systemic Lupus through various blood tests.’

That was 15 years ago.  

‘It causes extreme fatigue to this day, I am constantly exhausted with my body fighting itself, I have to be extremely careful that I get enough rest so my body doesn’t go into a flare,’ said Chandra. 

Chandra's days are unpredictable at times. Sometimes she wakes up with severe swelling in her face, body and limbs (left). Others she has nearly boundless energy (right) 

Chandra’s days are unpredictable at times. Sometimes she wakes up with severe swelling in her face, body and limbs (left). Others she has nearly boundless energy (right) 

‘I still suffer from pain most days in my joints, knees, fingers, and hips mostly, I have permanent damage to those joints with hyper extension that I have to be careful not to do further damage.

The inflammation that Lupus causes can strike any tissue, including the brain and nervous system.  

‘I now have neurological symptoms that when I get stressed or overly tired parts of my face and extremities start going numb, my current flares present like Guillain-Barré syndrome, where I start going numb from the feet up and my respiratory system starts shutting down,’ Chandra said.  

Severe flare ups have landed Chandra in the hospital twice in the last year alone. During one of those visits, her respiratory system seized up and Chandra nearly had to be put on a ventilator to keep her breathing. 

Though she has an athletic physique and stays active whenever she can, Chandra has been completely immobilized by her disease at times.  

‘When I am in flare especially my last two hospitalizations, it takes months of recovery, I have had to relearn how to walk three times in my life and have been wheelchair bound,’ she said. 

An intense diet and exercise routine help her to minimize lupus inflammation

As she’s relearned to walk on three separate occasions, Chandra has had to rely on a walker (left). But an intense diet and exercise routine help her to minimize lupus inflammation (right)

‘I have had to use walkers and canes. I have been completely immobile and spent weeks in inpatient rehab facilities relearning motor skills, regaining strength, and making myself mobile again to live an independent life.’ 

Chandra shares her Lupus journey and struggles on Instagram and has even set up her own clothing line, Wolfpack Apparel, which is named after her condition which means wolf in Latin. Proceeds from every sale go to the Lupus foundation to help find a cure.

She shared her words of advice to others.

‘I don’t believe in becoming a victim of circumstance, but rather a victor of the challenges given to us and to use those challenges to make this world a better place,’ she said.

She is working on getting a motivational YouTube channel and podcast off the ground.    

Chandra has her own personal mantra to motivate her through the worst days: ‘The only reason you were given this challenge is because you are a warrior, you are a person who is strong enough to fight this and no matter how bad it gets you are stronger, you are a fighter, and you will conquer this,’ she said. 

Chandra believes that ‘we are not given any challenge that we cannot win, just refuse to put up that white flag and give this fight all you have got.

‘You are not alone, no matter how lonely the road gets you will never be left to fight alone. I want people to know I am here and I want to bring a whole community of people together,’ she said. 

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