Providing Answers, Support and Hope in Georgia

Thirty-One Faces of Hope: Kayla McGrew

The lupus community includes people living with lupus, friends, family and supporters across Georgia. For Lupus Awareness Month, we would like to highlight some of our lupus heroes and champions. 

Kayla McGrew

Senior year of high school I started being tired all the time. I was getting migraines along with a low grade fever, nausea, strange rashes on my face and body. My finger tips would get cold and turn purple even on hot summer days. After this going on for almost a month I went to the doctor and nothing was really done. They had no suggestions. As the next few months went on I had more days of migraines and nausea and brain fog than good days. I was missing a lot of school. I started getting dizzy and passing out and severe stomach pains. I've been to the emergency room a few times. I was sent to an infectious disease doctor, gastrointestinal doctor, neurologist, and that’s just to name a few.

A nurse at one of the doctors offices came up to me and my mom and said she isn’t really supposed to do this but she said we might think about the possibility of lupus. At another ER visit another nurse mentioned the same thing. In the meantime we started researching lupus and it all sounded so familiar. I was tested for mono several times and my ANA was tested a few times, always negative results. My mom decided that I might get answers at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. While there they took blood and could not determine anything, while waiting in the exam room for a couple hours my mom saw the “butterfly” rash appeared and she went down the hall demanding the doctor come take my blood at that very moment. That test my ANA came back positive. We then scheduled an appointment with a rheumatologist and at this point it was confirmed that I had lupus.

All this took place with over 11 different doctors and about 8 months do get diagnosed. I was a cheerleader at the high school, in theater, coached junior cheerleaders and had to give all that up because I was so sick. I missed over 45 days of school and still graduated with all A’s due to keeping up and doing all of my work in hospital beds. However towards the end of 2016 It all just got too much and I tried overdosing on my medications... It was a long couple year struggle to get back to being happy and back to being closer to me.

I have since got my Associates degree in early childhood education, moved out on my own, work from home and I am getting married in October. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my medical and therapy teams, my amazing support system with my family, my fiancé and his family, friends, and hero’s I’ve met in my life like Amos Smith. I couldn’t be more appreciative and truly thank them for giving me my life back and keeping me alive.