Christopher Reed

Earlier this year, one of my favorite songs, Ironic by Alanis Morrissette, became my reality. I was sitting in my home office one morning when Luca, my best friend, called...

It gives me the creeps! No, I am not talking about blood being drawn from my elbow. Nor am I talking about a kidney biopsy. I am talking about the...

Struggling to fight bias is a common theme as a black gay man living with lupus. I was a shy teen, but lupus brought me out of my shell. Somehow...

One! Two! Three layers of lotion on my boy every morning. My friend Melissa and Ben always laughed as they watched me lather lotion on my face as if it...

What do you do when contagions are all around you? During this pandemic, the phrase, "wash your hands," reminded me of my mother helping me wash at the bathroom sink...

I'm pacing around the house, saying, "will they call?" My family keeps calling to check on the status of my interviews. "Should I have told that many people? What if...

In 1990, my mother and I attended our first lupus symposium. A rheumatologist gave a shocking presentation. The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA), Georgia Chapter (the Chapter) should have posted...

Imagine, you are driving down the expressway in morning rush hour traffic. The red lights from the cars in front of you glaring at your bloodshot eyes after a night...

The average cost of living with lupus in America is $22,000 and $50,000. The cost of lupus is based on several studies. Yes, there is a cost associated with lupus...

I had the opportunity to speak to a former colleague a few months about my 8 years as a law clerk for Judge Brenda Cole State Court of Fulton County...

Beach, mountains, Europe, the Caribbean, or grandma’s house. Each year, if we are fortunate, we are given the opportunity to vacation. There are so many in the lupus warriors who...

I crave food! I crave food! I crave food all of the time! Whenever my rheumatologist and I discuss a regimen of prednisone, I find an excuse to avoid the...

“You have the strength to get up.” Many years ago, a woman got up in a room full of over 300 lupus patients and caregivers and made this statement to...

A good doctor treats the whole patient. I am not talking about the philosophy held by many in holistic medicine. I am also not asking every physician to understand every...

At the end of 2017, I realized that I needed to change my rheumatologist. The time leading up to that decision leave my rheumatologist of 14 years. That rheumatologist and...

I know that majoring in marine biology seems like a cliché, but I had a serious interest in the subject matter. As a child, I was fascinated with marine animals...

During my most recent brush with death in 2018, my sister was right there by my side. In January 2018, I suffered from a very severe headache while driving. My...

I was diagnosed with lupus at the age of 16 after 4 to 6 years with unbearable and sometimes untreatable headaches. When I was diagnosed, in 1990, I was confined...

Know thyself. In 2004, I secured a law clerk position with a judge in Fulton County, Georgia. I certainly felt blessed because it is a competitive and prestigious position. During...

When I returned to school in the fall after my diagnosis, some of the teachers and students knew about my experience in the hospital. I had nothing to worry about...