She ended up in theemergency room, where doctors suspected she was having astroke.
That wasnt the case.
There, doctors ran several tests on Ayala, including MRIs of her brain.
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They found more than a dozenbrain lesions, or areas that didnt look like regular brain tissue.
Transient ischemic attacks can cause the kinds of symptoms that landed Ayala in the emergency room.
So why hadnt she ever heard of it?
Ayala at Your Destination Fit in Helotes, Texas, where she is a trainer. Photo by Cameron Nichols
These symptoms often overlap with other conditions, which makes it hard to know when to consider lupus.
Thats why its especially important to know who lupus typically affects.
Researchers say women of color are at the top of that list.
Ayala 15 weeks into her most recent pregnancy in Washington, D.C., at the 2017 Lupus Patient-Focused Drug Development (PFDD) Meeting. Photo by Zandra Erlandsen
The study provides some clarity as to just how high lupus rates are for women of color.
In the previous five years, shed had multipleflus, along with colds, sinus infections, and pneumonia.
Still, this means many patients arent armed with the information needed to advocate for their own health care.
But delaying treatment from qualified providers can complicate a persons journey to finding good care for their health issues.
Nearly 63 percent of those people were misdiagnosed before finding out they had lupus.
The management of lupus often involves coordination of multiple doctors and immune-suppressing treatments to allay various symptoms."
Dr. MacKay says that language also plays a critical role in providing care.
On top of that,implicit racial biasesstill exist in health care parameters.
All that said, delaying treatment from qualified providers can make it harder to properly address health concerns.
When Ayala could no longer remain in the corporate world, she turned a challenge into an opportunity.
[Whats] very hard to do when youre chronically ill is show consistency, she says.
It starts to cause problems in the corporate world.
Now shes a personal trainer at her favorite gym and has started a baking business calledBarbell Sweets.
Shes also dealing with another major life change: pregnancy.
Shes concerned about being able to care for her child after the birth.
Even when people say you cant achieve something, its really up to you.
Its truly in your hands.
