Life At 47
by Miroslava Jurcik
Title
Life At 47
Artist
Miroslava Jurcik
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
And this picture was taken by my daughter Sandy almost 4 years ago. I already wasn't feeling great and soon after I got sick with autoimmune connective tissue and couple other autoimmune diseases. I was put on steroids and I put on 25kg. I also got frozen shoulders one after each other. My life completely change, washing a dishes was hard work, and when I had a shower I was done for the rest of the day, even computer was too hard to be on for too long.
Prior to getting sick I was fit and healthy and was able to do just about anything. I never drunk much alcohol, or never did drugs , however I did smoke, my brother who is 2 years older got his autoimmune 3 years before me, and he never smoked and was fit and never did drugs either, so doesn't matter what we do the faulty geans are passed on from our parents and grandparents as in my family we had MS, AR etc. and in my opinion these genes get trigged by strong emotional drama like divorce in my brother case and in my case stress of everyday life and jerky ex bf.
But I wasn't gonne give up and die, as my brother so many times feels to do, bec living with unexpected pain which you get from time to time through connective tissue autoimmune and suffer with it for months on is very mentally destructive, so keeping the mood up is very important.
I also started suffering with allergies , so half of the food out there I cant eat, I cant even take most antibiotics or nurefen or any other aspirin base medication. And doctors were not helping me as side effects of steroids where making me sicker after I finish on them, so it was a pattern of steroids every few months I had to get out of.
And ofcourse when you sick money becomes an issue and even seeing doctors, some free hospital specialist are useless , so you have to go private and the progress is slow. Also natural paths are expensive. But I saw one this year and had a special test for 500 and find out that my food is not being absorb properly and now have to have MRI for my pancreas to find out if there is another reason why they not producing enough enzymes or if its just the autoimmune again.
I also had to change my whole diet, which is really hard to do at first, but going really well now as I have few nice meal I can eat without getting sick straight after.
But eating out can be a big issue as I experience recently as I believe there was some coconut crosscontamination which made me very sick. Last month also became sensitive to ginger , so that's out of the menu.
But overall, changing diet, taking digestive enzymes and couple other things seems to be working really well and I have lost 15 kg without going on diet,( I will NEVER give up chocolate :) and started riding a bike, met a guy and dating after 5 years being single and who puts up with me being sick and resting for days on when I need to.
So never ever give up, it may not be easy find the answer and you cannot rely on professionals to give them to you as they often clueless themselves unless you got one doctor which works with you like I have my rheumatologist.
So if you have autoimmune , healthy food and diet suitable for you is number one, it will make you better, even put you into remission, but it wont cure you. Then plenty of rest , exercise and positive mind and research are the main ingredients to keep you going.
And in my case photography is number one tool in my life which does keep me going.
Also I would like to raise awareness about people who suffer from autoimmune can look healthy on outside and suffer in huge pain on the inside. And some days they can function fully and others unable to move.
More and more people are diagnosed with autoimmune disorders, which mainly is due to increased awareness and improved diagnostic tools or is it the deadly environment and food full of chemicals which poisoning us ?? My mum had it for at least 20 years and only today at 72 she just find out she has many autoimmune disorders after I been telling her she does for few years.
Many of the major rheumatologic disorders are autoimmune in nature. Connective tissue diseases represent classical models of systemic autoimmune diseases.
In 1942, Paul Klemperer described similarities of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and scleroderma and postulated that these diseases, which he called diffuse collagen diseases, share a similar etiology. In 1952, they were termed connective tissue diseases.
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November 25th, 2018
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Comments (33)
Barbara Jewell
Great portrait, Miroslava! A positive attitude can make ALL the difference no matter what the difficulty might be. It's often "easier said than done" however, so kudos to you for being strong enough to maintain that. Very best wishes to you in this New Year for continuing on the pathway to improvement in your health and taking many more fabulous photos along the way! L
HH Photography of Florida
You are an inspiration, Miroslava. A positive mental attitude is essential to fighting any serious health issue and you seem to have that in abundance. Thank you for telling your story and bringing awareness to how autoimmune diseases affect the body. Beautiful photography by your daughter ... beautiful model too. Happy New Year to you and yours. L/fv
John Bartelt
This is a fabulous portrait by your daughter, Miroslava! Many thanks for sharing your story and making us all more aware of how these types of autoimmune diseases affect people. My best wishes for you to stay strong and continue letting your photography keep giving you positive feedback! l/f
Morris Finkelstein
Wonderful B&W portrait by your daughter of her fantastic Mom! Your story of your coping with autoimmune diseases is an inspiration to others diagnosed with autoimmune diseases, and with chronic illnesses in general! It isn't easy, but you've found the willpower to get better physically and mentally. Keep up the great work, and keep taking photos and telling your life's story! F/L
Linda Howes
Thanks for sharing your story with us, and making people more aware of autoimmune disease works. Isn't it wonderful how photography can get your mind on good things, so glad it helps you. Having a positive attitude is everything! You are doing very well, considering all these things you have to deal with. You should be proud of yourself Miroslava! l/f
Miroslava Jurcik replied:
Thank you Linda and you absolutely right, photography is marvelous in so many ways !! :)
Bunny Clarke
A beautiful capture and work. AI diseases are never fun to live with. We just carry on.
Jerry Bokowski
You are just 2 years older than my son Daniel, Miroslava! Keep fighting and researching your health advocacy!
Miroslava Jurcik replied:
Thank you, its a great age to be if you dont have health issue, you are wiser and you still got energy !! :)
Geraldine Scull
Wonderful inspiring story and you make a beautiful model, great portrait shooting ! l/f
Faye Anastasopoulou
You look gorgeous Miroslava! So glad you are fighting the health issues and you are fine now!
Chris PrintsProject
Marvelous portrait Miroslava! I am sorry for your health problems and so glad that you are fine now :) ❤ l/f