Dear Visitor:

First of all, allow me to thank you for visiting this website, it means you are a person with a generous heart willing to extend some of your time for another person in need.

This website is dedicated to help Ms. Janice Pilapil, a 29 year-old mother of a 4-year-old twin. Janice used to work for the Madrigal Foundation based in the Ateneo de Naga University campus in Naga City. It’s a job she was forced to leave when her medical condition started to deteriorate in the latter part of 2008. Her husband, Mr. Alex Pilapil, is a laboratory technician of the Ateneo de Naga University, Digital Arts and Computer Animation (DACA) department.

Janice has had the symptoms of Lupus way before it was medically brought to her attention last year. However, due to the fact that Lupus is not a very common medical condition, at least in Naga City, and due to the deceiving mildness of those earlier symptoms, it didn’t rouse much concern for the couple until it showed certain degree of disturbing progress as indicated in her medical history and as shown by her most recent photos (please see medical history or photos).

Before all these, Janice is a dynamic mother of two living a normal life working and attending to her family. She is a high spirited person who takes life’s challenges in a stride taking comfort and great fulfillment in her two young twins. Unfortunately, since December of last year, she hasn’t seen her kids whom they were forced to leave in Bicol when they sought medical attention in Manila.

Currently, Janice is confined at the National Kidney Institute in Quezon City in an attempt to arrest the symptomatic effects of Lupus. Despite the difficult and painful state she is in, Janice still maintains a positive attitude towards life. Her faith in the Lord’s miraculous compassion and her faith in the numerous people who have extended support and prayers, makes this ordeal tolerable than it actually is.

Please constantly include Janice in your prayers. Two young kids eagerly await the return of a mother whom they have been missing for the past 3 months.

For those who may be interested to help financially, but would like further clarification, please feel free to leave a comment in this blog or email any of the following people:

Mr. Edsel T. Navera
edselnavera@gmail.com

Ms. Ma. Felda Alarkon
dada@adnu.edu.ph

Or you may choose to directly send your donation to Mr. Alex Pilapil’s bank account specified in this site.

Thank you very much for your time and help. May the good Lord bless and keep you and your many beloved safe and healthy.

The following is Janice’s medical history, shared here for the purpose of providing you a glimpse of how her medical condition progressed through time.

Photos

2001.
She was referred to the Barangay Health Center of Brgy. Calauag, Naga City to undergo treatment for TB due to a 2-month long continuous coughing.  She submitted sputum specimen to the Barangay Health Center, and was diagnosed to be positive of Tubercolosis (TB).

2002.
She was diagnosed by Dr. Caceres to have a chemical hepatitis probable cause is the medical treatment undergone for TB.

2005.
Got married and gave birth to a twin.  Due to the pregnancy that caused her stress and fatigue, the early stage of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE or generally known as Lupus) might have been triggered

2006.
Her Father died due to complications from renal disease and diabetes.  Her Father’s death caused her too much depression.

2007.
Year after, her mother died due to thyroid cancer (Stage 4) causing her more pain and stress that might have caused her lupus to fully be activated.

2007 (Aug).
She was officially diagnosed by Dr. Galicia as positive with SLE

Symptoms are:
Severe Joint Pains
Malar / Butterfly Rash
Thyroid Infection
Kidney Inflammation
Pulmonary Infection (Scars)

2009 (Jan 5).
Experienced seizure and Sir Alex found her confined at the Naga City Hospital.

2009 (Jan 17).
Experienced seizure and was confined at the National Kidney Transplant Institute (NKTI).  Medicines like TRILEPTAL were given for anti-seizure.

2009 (Jan 22).
Suffered severe vertigo and joint pains.  She was again confined at NKTI.

2009 (Feb 2).
Returned to NKTI due to medical reactions such as rahes flared all over her body, sore throat to the extent that she could not swallow her own saliva, wounded lips.

Photos

Definition :
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, inflammatory autoimmune disorder. It may affect the skin, joints, kidneys, and other organs.

Causes:
SLE (lupus) is an autoimmune disease. This means there is a problem with the body’s normal immune system response. Normally, the immune system helps protect the body from harmful substances. But in patients with an autoimmune disease, the immune system can’t tell the difference between harmful substances and healthy ones. The result is an overactive immune response that attacks otherwise healthy cells and tissue. This leads to chronic (long-term) inflammation.

The underlying cause of autoimmune diseases is not fully known. Some researchers think autoimmune diseases occur after infection with an organism that looks like certain proteins in the body. The proteins are later mistaken for the organism and wrongly targeted for attack by the body’s immune system. SLE may be mild or severe enough to cause death.

SLE affects nine times as many women as men. It may occur at any age, but appears most often in people between the ages of 10 and 50 years. African Americans and Asians are affected more often than people from other races.

SLE may also be caused by certain drugs. For information on this cause of SLE, see drug-induced lupus erythematosus.

Symptoms:
Symptoms vary from person to person, and may come and go. The condition may affect one organ or body system at first. Others may become involved later. Almost all people with SLE have joint pain and most develop arthritis. Frequently affected joints are the fingers, hands, wrists, and knees.

Inflammation of various parts of the heart may occur as pericarditis, endocarditis, or myocarditis. Chest pain and arrhythmias may result from these conditions.

General symptoms include:

* Fever
* Fatigue
* General discomfort, uneasiness or ill feeling (malaise)
* Skin rash — a “butterfly” rash over the cheeks and bridge of the nose affects about half of those with SLE. The rash gets worse when in sunlight. The rash may also be widespread.
* Sensitivity to sunlight
* Joint pain and swelling
* Arthritis
* Swollen glands
* Muscle aches
* Nausea and vomiting
* Pleurisy (causes chest pain)
* Pleural effusions
* Seizures
* Psychosis

Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease:

* Blood in the urine
* Coughing up blood
* Nosebleed
* Swallowing difficulty
* Skin color is patchy
* Red spots on skin
* Fingers that change color upon pressure or in the cold
* Numbness and tingling
* Mouth sores
* Hair loss
* Abdominal pain
* Visual disturbance
* Blood disorders, including blood clots

Treatment:
There is no cure for SLE. Treatment is aimed at controlling symptoms. Your individual symptoms determine your treatment.

Mild disease that involves a rash, headaches, fever, arthritis, pleurisy, and pericarditis requires little therapy. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) are used to treat arthritis and pleurisy. Corticosteroid creams are used to treat skin rashes. An anti-malaria drug called hydroxychloroquine) and low dose corticosteroids are sometimes used for skin and arthritis symptoms. You should wear protective clothing, sunglasses, and sunscreen when in the sun.

Severe or life-threatening symptoms (such as hemolytic anemia, extensive heart or lung involvement, kidney disease, or central nervous system involvement) often require treatment by a rheumatologist and other specialists in the specific area. Corticosteroids or medications to decrease the immune system response may be prescribed to control the various symptoms. Some health care professionals use cytotoxic drugs (drugs that block cell growth) to treat people who do not respond well to corticosteroids or who must use high doses of corticosteroids.

Outlook (Prognosis):
The outcome for people with SLE has improved over recent years. Many of those with SLE have mild illness. Women with SLE who become pregnant are often able to carry the pregnancy safely to term and deliver normal infants, as long as there is no severe kidney or heart disease present and the SLE is being treated appropriately.

The presence of anti-phospholipid antibodies may increase the possibility of pregnancy loss. The 10-year survival rate for lupus patients is greater than 85%. People with severe involvement of the brain, lungs, heart, and kidney do worse than others in terms of overall survival and disability.

Possible Complications:
Some people with SLE have deposits of antibodies within the cells (glomeruli) of the kidneys. This leads to a condition called lupus nephritis. Patients with this condition may eventually develop kidney failure and require dialysis or kidney transplantation.

Other complications include:
* Infection
* Thrombocytopenia
* Hemolytic anemia
* Myocarditis
* Seizures

References

Harris ED, Budd RC, Genovese MC, Firestein GS, Sargent JS, Sledge CB. Kelley’s Textbook of Rheumatology. 7th ed. St. Louis, Mo: WB Saunders; 2005.

Noble J. Textbook of Primary Care Medicine. 3rd ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby; 2001.

Update Date: 8/22/2006

Updated by: Lisa Christopher-Stine, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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This information was taken from MedlinePlus Website