Lupus Chick #3: Francis Shoeman

Francis Schoeman was diagnosed with SLE over 30 years ago. She noticed that there was little support or information about the disease in many parts of South Africa, and now works with the Lupus foundation of South Africa to improve things for people with SLE.

The lack of public knowledge about SLE can be incredibly dangerous. Lupus is a disease with many disguises and everyone has an individual experience. SLE can appear and disappear through many different and constantly changing symptoms which people can live with for years without realising that they have a chronic illness which if not treated correctly can be fatal. “The damage of poor understanding reaches far beyond our physical organs and affect our self-esteem. At school, children with SLE may be wrongly accused of faking illnesses, or being fragile”. At work, the stress induced symptoms of lupus can result in frequent absences at crucial times. Amongst families, the lack of clear physical signs make understanding and empathy difficult.

The Lupus Foundation of South Africa offers counselling for people with SLE and their families. They give them tips on how to increase awareness amongst their communities and develop information leaflets for workplaces, schools and health care professionals.

Healthcare in South Africa is insurance based. Those with MedicAID have access to a range of highly qualified doctors. But those without insurance have to first see a nurse in a free clinic who will then decide whether to send them to a doctor or not. This is one of Francis’s biggest worry, as this can create a delays in diagnosis as individually the symptoms of lupus can be dismissed as minor. If people are not repeatedly being seen by the same nurses it is difficult for one to tie together the repeated symptoms to a diagnosis of SLE. In the meantime the lupus can be slowly causing permanent damage to several organs. The Lupus Foundation of South Africa Is working to educate nurses in training to keep lupus at the forefront of their minds.

For more on the Foundation's good work for Lupus in South Africa, access their FaceBook Page on the following Link:
https://www.facebook.com/LupusFoundationOfSouthAfrica