Lupus Warrior and Business Founder Shares Why Her Mom is Da Bomb

Isabel’s mom has been by her side, from launching her bath bomb business with her sister before they were teenagers, to the ups and downs of her journey to a lupus diagnosis. In honor of Mother’s Day Isabel shares this journey and what it was like to have her mom by her side, and how her mindset has helped her positivity through every peak and valley - from business to managing her disease.

When I was 11, my sister and I started making bath bombs with surprises inside of them for fun. When our friends and family enjoyed our products, we signed up for a local youth art fair, thinking it would be an engaging summer project. We called our business “Da Bomb”. 

“You’re so lucky that your parents support you!” was one of the first comments we always got from adults at the fair. As a pre-teen, receiving these comments was odd to me. I had always been a curious, outgoing and ambitious person, and sometimes it felt like they were giving all the credit to my parents. Turns out, I was aloof to the reality that a great deal of credit should in fact go to my parents. If it weren’t for my father’s help, the business would’ve imploded long ago, and if it weren’t for my mother, the business wouldn’t have existed altogether.

It was at our second annual art fair that we were approached by a local salon owner. On the first night of the weekend-long fair, he took home eight of our bath bombs and used all eight during one soak (we don’t recommend you try this). The next day he came back. This time he requested to carry our products in his three salon locations! 

I remember my mom, who was sitting behind my sister and I, in our booth, quite literally in our corner saying, “Wow! This is so exciting!” She didn’t say, “Oh wow, that seems like too much work,” or “You’re too young to deal with that.” She just encouraged us to seize the opportunity if it was something that sounded fulfilling to us. This positive mindset was crucial to the success of our business, and while positivity must be met with strategy and reason, you can’t achieve your dreams without believing in yourself first. My mom believed in us, and in turn, we believed in ourselves.

My mom maintained this enthusiasm throughout every step of the business’ growth. When she drove us to local boutiques to pitch our products to store managers she would hype us up by playing “Mr. Bombastic” on the stereo, calling it our theme song. When we signed the
lease on our first mall cart, she sat across from us at the pretzel stand with a smile and a thumbs up through every shift, as we legally weren’t old enough to work at the cart by ourselves. And when Target committed to carrying our bath bombs in all 1,800 stores for the holiday season of 2016, she looked at all four of us family members after the meeting and said, “Let’s make this happen,” even though we were all intimidated by the task at hand. She focused on the excitement of possibility when faced with daunting, even impossible seeming challenges. This mindset has been critical in making our business as successful as it is today!

For me, fighting an autoimmune disease is one of those impossible seeming challenges. When people didn’t understand why I was “so excited to be diagnosed with lupus,” I think back to these lessons my mom taught me. It wasn’t that I was excited to have lupus, I was excited to have answers. On average, it takes someone with lupus six years to be diagnosed, and I was no exception to this statistic. I saw doctor after doctor, went through dozens of referrals, met countless specialists and waited months to finally get an appointment at Mayo Clinic in my home state of Minnesota. 

But, in all fairness, lupus isn’t exactly easy to diagnose. Symptoms vary greatly from person to person, and often appear like those of other conditions. So as you can imagine, after six years of not knowing why I was progressively experiencing debilitating symptoms, I was incredibly relieved to finally have answers as to what I was experiencing. Although there is no cure for lupus yet, having these answers meant there was a possibility for treatment that might significantly improve my quality of life. Sitting in the room with me as I was diagnosed, was my mom, having never left my corner. But this time, thanks to her model attitude, I was the one who was able to say “Wow. This is so exciting.”

This is not to discredit anyone’s experience with pain or hardship in any way. Lupus is a deadly, volatile and unforgiving disease. I do not expect people to be only optimistic about what
the future might hold. It’s important to honor and process your hardships. But it’s also important to use positivity to find hope in the hardest of times. My goal is to harness the same energy my mom put toward tackling the most intimidating of challenges, and use that energy to fight this disease. 

Instead of telling myself, “this feels like too much for you to handle,” or “prioritizing your health is too much work,” I wake up each morning and decide to tell myself, “you can do this.” I’m motivated to continue advocating for lupus research and awareness, and I’m grateful to have been able to share my story and inspire others in honor of my mom and her incredible attitude. Do things that fulfill you, seize the day, stay positive and never give up!

Whether you are newly diagnosed or have been living with lupus for years, our National Resource Center on Lupus has the information you need to help you on your journey - from finding the treatment approach right for you to how to prepare for your doctor appointments.

And, if you are a parent with a child with lupus, we have resources for you too, including a caregiver support group, a lupus at school guide, and tips for caring for children and teens with lupus.