Pure Speculation, Here....

.....but I'm wondering if Michael Jackson had lupus? Think about it.....those who have lupus try to stay out of the sun (MJ carrying an umbrella, all covered up with long sleeves, etc.); skin changes occur (recently he was seen with some "marks" on his skin; and I don't know if this is true or not, but I've read somebody who stated he had been receiving dialysis (kidney troubles?) Plus, whether or not the painkillers "did him in", he had evidently been in a great deal of pain most of his life and become dependent on several pain-killing drugs. Recently seen in a wheelchair.

Sounds like lupus to me. Despite the protests that he evidently underwent, and passed, a rigorous physical exam for more insurance coverage, I believe he could have done that, on a good day. Those who know lupus patients, know that we have our good days and our bad days. And, when hard pressed to "perform" such as passing a physical exam, we can gather our strength and do whatever is necessary.

So now we're waiting on the autopsy report. It will probably take several days, if not weeks, for the definitive cause of death to be determined. This much we know.....he was taking painkillers. Whether they were too many, combined, or an overdose of one particular drug (Demerol has been suggested) we "lupuies" know how easily that can occur.

If it is lupus that killed him, I'm really gonna be ticked off at him and those around him.....Because he could have become a spokesperson for our disease and helped fund research efforts for a cure and/or better treatment for this aut0-immune disease.

So why the secrecy? Was this deliberate or just another of his "quirks" that he didn't want the public to know too much about him?

Okay, let's look first at the stigma of having an auto-immune disease. Hmmm. Sounds like AIDS? That's the first comparison the average joe comes up with. Well, yes and no. In AIDS, the person has no immune system. In Lupus, the person has an immune system that is so much in overdrive that it attacks organs of the body, mistaking them for a foreign object.

Second, if it is Lupus, more people of color contract this disease than other ethnicities. Knowing his propensity for denying his race (pure speculation on my part, remember?) by trying to look "white", he might have been ashamed of having a disease that so stereotypes a race.

Third, if it is Lupus, he might have denied it even to himself, giving only lip service to his doctors' treatment and instructions and not getting enough rest and avoiding stress if possible. After all, THE Pop Icon of all time can't possibly have a disease, can he?

And lastly, I have to tell you that if indeed he had lupus and denied it, I will really be ticked off that he didn't help himself or others by publicizing his struggles with this disease. In the instance of Farrah Fawcett's death, I applaud her for facing cancer head-on and talking about it, even to the point of having her struggles put on film for others to gain strength from. Not so if MJ died from lupus or complications of lupus, as it may be.

What a loss, not only of an icon, but of an opportunity to inform, encourage and help with research into why lupus is such a cunning, baffling and powerful disease.

I hope I'm wrong.

Lupus

Michael Jackson