Talina M. - Diagnosed at age 11

My name is Brandy. I have five children. My second oldest daughter is now 19. She was diagnosed with lupus when she was around 11 years old. It started with chest pains. We took it as heartburn acid reflux. That’s what we were first told by doctors. One night my daughter Talina said, "mommy I can't take the chest pain no more."

I took her to the E.R. After test and chest x-rays the doctor said her heart was enlarged. She had fluid around her heart. She was flown to Children’s hospital and they did all kinds of tests. We stayed at Children’s hospital for about a week or two. When she was able to come home, we got a call from a doctor saying she has an auto immune disease called lupus and explained more about lupus.

She has been in and out of hospitals since. Her lungs had built up so much fluid doctors were surprised she was still able to breathe . Her lungs were so small. She’s suffered mental illness due to living with illness. Talina is a suicide survivor twice. She’s had kidney failure and had to do chemo treatments. She recently had a stroke in November 2022. She is so tired. My daughter is a beautiful, smart, talented young biracial woman. She has lived her preteens to now, age 19, mostly in hospitals.