Having Psoriasis Is Not The End

It is so amazing what we can remember as children. I am 66 now and I can remember my first day of school, probably because I was removed from people and realized I was different because I had psoriasis.

I got diagnosed with psoriasis at a very young age and was energetic and happy. My teachers let me anticipate a variety of school activities such as handball, hopscotch, and hula-hoop. I remember one of my favorite teachers said I lit up the room when I walked in. I didn’t know what that meant back then, but I sure do now and have heard it many times in my adult life.

Stress was impacting my psoriasis

When I got older, I moved to another city to do my studies. During those years, I was a student and worked at odd jobs to pay for my education. My psoriasis was bad, but the people were more mature than what I had to deal with in school.

Life was pretty good and I was exactly where I had hoped to be. I was working my way through school and helping my father when I could. This was a very busy year for me. I did 2 years of schooling.

I think because of the stress I was under my psoriasis got worse. It got to the point that I was uncomfortable, and the itch was unbearable. My skin had developing patches of thick skin. I went to t dermatologist after a dermatologist.

The one thing that sticks in my head to this day is how many doctors told me that my psoriasis was the worst case they had ever seen. No one in my family had it, so I had no one to turn to. I just wanted the doctor to fix this.

My psoriasis is not my fault

My healthcare team explained that it was not that simple and provided a more detailed history of this disease and what I had to look forward to too, such as psoriatic arthritis. I didn't understand it at first, so I researched it and after discovering how dire it was started looking for treatment for the condition that had taken over my life. I wanted to save my career, passion, and future.

The treatments that were provided to me in my earlier years didn't help at all. I was always at least 70-80% covered. I couldn't stop scratching my itchy body and always had to cover up. Because of the scratching, my skin was so soiled that my clothes and sheets were always smeared with blood.

It was a dreadful sight to see blood oozing from every scratch I made. I quit attending classes because of the disgusting glances and rejections from other people. After 2 years I went home and started working.

I used to question God every day why he picked me to face these conditions. There were times I felt like my hopes and dreams had been shattered. I dreaded looking in the mirror. It took several interventions and counseling for me to realize that this was not my fault. I am in a much better place today and want people to know that this can be a hard journey, but we can get through it. I am still lighting up rooms.

We are all in this together.