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Blogs by Sherry L Gibson
Spirits Crossing Paths 2/6/2005 3:23:15 PM
A special meeting of a woman who had Lupus
I have Lupus. I have many online friends who also have Lupus but I know no one off line that has that has this condition. Sometimes it feels like I live alone in my life with Lupus on a day to day basis.
In January 2005 I escorted my mother-in-law to the hospital for some tests she needed. While we were there she wanted to visit a friend who was sick. I went with her but waited outside in the hallway. Across the hall a woman was trying to call out to me, to get my attention. When I realized she wanted to talk to me, I went into her room.
I was wearing a new pale blue jacket with big wolves in the background. It was a Christmas present to me from my mother in law. Lupus means wolf in a foreign language and often one living with Lupus is referred to as 'Living with the wolf'. This woman wanted to see my jacket close up and ask me about it.
I explained to her that I had Lupus and that the jacket was a gift to me from my mother-in-law. This woman reached out to hold my hand. I extended my hand to her. She held my hand and told me her name was Opal and that she too had Lupus! She told me she didn't know anyone else who really had Lupus and she seemed so pleased to meet me. We talked about Lupus and how it affects our bodies. She told me it was destroying her lungs and that was why she was back in the hospital again.
I ask Opal how old she was and she said she was 75 years old and had been fighting the wolf a long time. We chatted a bit and she wanted a copy of my book, Only a Game. I promised her one. She lived only a few miles from my home! It felt like we had known each other for a long time.
When I had to leave, Opal said we were sisters in Lupus. I told her what a pleasure it was to have been there and to meet her. Such a special feeling came over us, it was hard to leave. She was in such wonderful spirits though!
I left the hospital that day in awe that at along last my path had crossed with another woman in my real world who has Lupus. My excitement was short live because I got word the next week that Opal had died. The wolf won the battle at last, but Opal fought a mighty battle for many years.
Opal believed in God and talked to me about that in our brief meeting. We teased that our paths had crossed for a reason, that our spirits were meant to meet here on this earth.
When I think about this courageous woman who has lost her life to Lupus, I think about our paths crossing for only a few brief moments in time. I know that God led me to her and it was my God's timing for our spirits to cross paths. Opal felt so alone with Lupus and God brought me to her to let her know someone knew and understood all she had suffered. That meeting brought her such peace of mind! I think I left something special behind with Opal when our paths crossed that day in the hospital.
I walked away knowing my God had arranged this special meeting. I walked away with something special to carry with me for a lifetime. I needed something and it was provided for me if only for a few brief minutes one afternoon in a hospital when I met this stranger. God knew that I too needed to know that I was not alone living with Lupus.
