Living With Lupus: Day 50

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Today is Day 50 for this winter, 2013, flare. I'm withdrawing from prednisone, and it appears I'm still wading in the lupus river.

Today's reading was Numbers 11:1 "And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord." There's a definite reminder. Also, I ran across this quote from Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones in his Sermon on the Mount: "It is no small trial to spend weeks and months in the same room; it tests one to the very foundation."

Keeping in mind both quotes, here's what the good, the bad, and the ugly look like in a few words.

The Good: sitting up, periodically moving about inside the house, writing, reading, chatting with visitors, weakness and mild flu symptoms.

The Bad: in bed, blinds drawn, hat to block the light, sunglasses to look at the computer, chills, migraine, strong flu symptoms.

The Ugly: heightened symptoms, waiting in the dark.

Right now, all three can happen in one day. And of course there's good in the bad and ugly as well. So, this is a waiting time: waiting to see which symptoms are lupus and which are temporary withdrawals from prednisone, waiting for the steroid to clear my system to confirm there are no cancer markers, waiting to see what the next moment feels like, waiting to see what God would have.

Thanks for remembering me in your thoughts, prayers, and visits.over 50 days You are so encouraging! xox

ebook release day: Loose Threads, On Pointe

Oh, happy news! Loose Threads and On Pointe are released today as ebooks! Many thanks to my agent Elizabeth Harding and my publishing house Simon & Schuster. I appreciate their work in this venture. May both books wing into the hands of just the right readers.

To recap Loose Threads:

In a household of four generations of women, Grandma Margie discloses that she has a lump in her breast. Told through forthright and perceptive poems in teenager Kay's own voice, Loose Threads reverberates with emotion and depth and will leave no reader untouched. (flap copy)

Booklist named Loose Threads a Top Ten First Novel for Youth and gave it a starred review:

"Like Virginia Euwer Wolff's free verse novels, Grover's book balances vivid emotional scenes with plenty of space between the words. Readers, especially those who know illness up close, will connect with Kay's secret worries and deep sadness, and will admire her strength."

The work was also a Washington State Book Award finalist, a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, a Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year, and a Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee.

And to review On Pointe:

On Pointe soars with emotion as it explores what it means to reach for a dream -- and the way that dreams can change as quickly and suddenly as do our lives. Clare learns to dream and then dream again. 

On Pointe was a Girls Life Top Ten Summer Read.

"The teen's voice rings true. This finely written novel touches on contemporary themes such as body image leading to bulimia, overly ambitious parents, and aging grandparents who can no longer live alone." School Library Journal

The work was also a Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award Nominee and a Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year.

Thanks for celebrating with me today and helping to spread the news. With my love!

Loose Threads
On Pointe
Simon & Schuster, 2013, ebook release

Light Through Time

Light Through Time by lorieanngrover on Polyvore

Poetry Friday: Last Summer

Last Summer

 

There is a swing, sun

and smile. Shaded eyes don't see

the coming darkness.

 

 

Lorie Ann Grover, 2013

 

I had no idea that lupus was being unlocked.

Be True

Be True by lorieanngrover on Polyvore

Sweet Comfort

Sweet Comfort by lorieanngrover on Polyvore

Poetry Friday: There's hope. Look.

There's hope. Look.

 

Inside the puddle

glorious light is caught and

reflects the pink dawn.

 

 

Lorie Ann Grover, 2013

 

 

"There's hope. Look," is a quote from my verse novel Loose Threads. I sign all copies with these two sentences. This photo exemplified the line to me this week. Happy Poetry Friday! 



Tell Me What to Do

Tell Me What to Do by lorieanngrover on Polyvore

Poetry Friday: Flaring

Flaring

Some days you must just

lie on your back, stiff and still,

stay cricked and quiet. 

Lorie Ann Grover, 2013

Let Them Eat Cake

Let Them Eat Cake by lorieanngrover on Polyvore

Life with Lupus: February, 2013

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An update! 25 days into my second flare, the prednisone has been more taxing than in the first 2012 episode. As it rattles through me, shutting down my immune system, I'm weak. My friend said if a gust of wind caught my dress, I'd float away.

So here are shout outs for all those tying me down. To my husband, who deals with me being awake until 3 am and then starting the day at 6. He is patient to sleep with the light on, the bath running, the pages rustling. And he hugs me when I'm crying for no good prednisone reason.

To my eldest daughter, who picks up my duties and brings me fabbity food of fun. To my youngest who thinks of me from afar and stops to text.

To my friends and family, who message, cook, send gifties, and spend their time sitting beside me in my bedroom.

To my brother who is flying out to see me!

To my doctors who listen to me and ask what I would like to do.

I'm reading a fascinating book called Shakespeare's Tremor and Orwell's Cough, the Medical Lives of Famous Authors by John J. Ross. Within the section on Herman Melville, who suffered bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and ankylosing spondylitis, is this quote concerning his ability to still write in the midst of his illness:

"it demonstrates how the love, support, and infinite patience of spouses, family, and friends can modify the course of chronic illness for the better."

Thank you for helping me! xox

Dia

Dia by lorieanngrover on Polyvore

Poetry Friday: In Your Smile

In Your Smile

Joy, love, and laughter

bridge years and miles, this moment

brother and sister

Lorie Ann Grover, 2013