Providing Answers, Support and Hope in Georgia

Thirty-One Faces of Hope: Viridiana Dudoit

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. 

Viridiana Dudoit's Lupus Story

Told by Viridiana's husband, Chad Gates

Three years ago my wife was diagnosed with lupus. We knew that genetic disease ran it the family (all the women in her immediate family had developed various liver problems), and she had developed genetic cirrhosis also, but we were managing it through careful diet and lifestyle. Regarding lupus, we had no idea was it was. 

Things went well for a few years. We watched her medicines very carefully, trying not to impact the liver, asking a 1000 questions, always choosing the least impactful medicine choice. It was a crazy balancing act. She had a variety of symptoms - joint pain, fibromyalgia-type pain, deep fatigue – and these led to secondary issues like muscle loss due to immobility, debilitating weakness, tremendous difficulty doing the most basic of activities. Getting up from bed was a painful chore, putting on clothes took 10 minutes, growing to weak to even lift a cup to drink. Little did we know this was only the beginning. 
Her rheumatologist suggest a new medicine to address all her connective tissue problems, and we finally relented. From the moment she started taking it, things went downhill. She began to gain water weight in the legs (edema) and accumulating fluid in her abdomen (ascites). In 3 weeks she gain 30 lbs. 

Then began the litany of doctor’s visits. First he gastroenterologist for liver, then a liver transplant specialist, then a kidney specialist. After 6 months of fighting all her new symptoms, the kidney doctor shed some light on things. There’s a strong possibility her kidneys are creating excess fluid, and this very well could be caused by her underlying Lupus. At last, a light in the darkness. 

We are still working to improve her health, one day at a time, one hope at a time. It’s a long road, and the end of our story isn’t written, but we face each day with hope, resolution and courage.