Fighting back against lupus
By Staff
Dennis Walker's prognosis was not good. Lupus damaged his kidneys. He was given about seven years to live.
Both Nickelberry and her current husband, William, share the agony of losing a loved one to lupus. William's first wife also died from complications of the disease at the age of 44, a few months after Walker.
High school sweethearts, the Walkers were married in 1977. Nickelberry, of Jackson, is a native of Meridian, as was Dennis. The couple moved to Jackson in 1996. She said symptoms of lupus came on gradually, but were ignored.
Dennis Walker continued to stay as active as possible. He kept working at Sears for as long as he could after he was diagnosed with lupus.
Nickelberry often helps educate people by holding workshops on the dangers of the disease that claimed the life of her first husband, William's first wife, and many others in the prime of life.
Elusive foe
The death rate for people with lupus is on the rise, yet awareness of the disease, particularly among those who most often fall victim to it, is on the decline.
According to the Mississippi Primary Health Care Association, a survey conducted by the Lupus Foundation of America revealed adults age 18-34 have the lowest awareness of lupus, a disease that causes the immune system to attack the body's own cells and tissues, including vital organs.
Eight out of every 10 new cases of the disease are developed in women during their childbearing years.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, deaths due to lupus have risen 60 percent over the past 20 years, especially among black women.
Of the estimated 1.4 million Americans with some form of the disease, about 90 percent are women. Although there is no cure for lupus there are treatments.
Meridian rheumatologist, Dr. Robert Daggett, has practiced in Meridian since 1992. He said he has seen a lot of lupus but he remains undecided as to whether the disease has increased over the years locally. The types of lupus he sees more of, however, are severe rather than minor forms of the disease.
He said the survival rate varies widely depending on the type of lupus a person has, the effectiveness of treatment, and the willingness of the patient to follow the prescribed treatment.
He said one of the most common misconceptions about lupus is that once a person has it, his or her life is over.
Lupus, however, is elusive in the first place and detecting it can be difficult.
He added that lupus tends to run in families. Daggett said people with family members diagnosed with lupus should have their family physician evaluate them for the disease.
Fighting back
Pat Cole, of Meridian, was a young mother of 29 when she was diagnosed with lupus.
Now, at 43, she is a wife, mother and grandmother. She has battled lupus for 14 years, enduring painful rashes and four hip replacements.
Her first symptoms were red blotches and legions on her skin but her problems quickly spread to her joints.
Bone scans revealed deterioration in the joints of her hips.
She has seen "the butterfly" a red patch shaped like a butterfly that covers the face of some lupus patients when they break out. Many people she has known with lupus have died.
She also wants to help form a support group locally. Cole said there are lupus support groups in Philadelphia and Jackson, but she said one is needed in Meridian.
Cole's mother, Martha Beard, of Meridian, said having people on whom to rely has allowed her daughter to cope with lupus.
Besides having the support of her family, Cole stays active by being supportive of her husband Fred, and her four children. She has a daughter, Latoyia Beard, who teaches physical education at Oakland Heights Elementary School. Her daughter, Latasha Cole Johnson, is expecting her second child and she has kept busy over the years cheering her sons who play basketball. Fred Cole Jr., plays for Alcorn State University. Her son Reginald Cole graduated this year from Meridian High School and will attend Alcorn in the fall.
She said she has more good days than bad days.
Cole said she takes lots of medication to control her lupus, but having the support of her family keeps her going, too.
She said a local lupus support group will help others in her situation.
