Lupus Advocate Jokiva Bellard's Journey to Feeling Beautiful After Diagnosis
Her doctor inspired her to love herself.
As her disease progressed, her condition began to require chemotherapy. The doctor told her that her skin may change and her hair would fall out. With her fragile confidence shaken by this possibility, she began to voice her concerns about undergoing chemotherapy if it was going to cause her to feel even worse about her appearance.
The doctor gave her some sage advice, saying, “if you’re going to continue to act like you don’t love yourself, you’re going to constantly end up in this hospital bed.” Looking back, Bellard realized that it was true. “You stress out about being beautiful and lupus is triggered by stress,” she explained, showing a collage of pictures of her with and without facial swelling, but done up with flawless makeup in both.
Photo source: Allure/Youtube
