WHEN unfamiliar symptoms wracked her body, Reeanna Harrilal struggled silently.
Because the symptoms were invisible to the naked eye, Harrilal, a former broadcaster, bore the brunt of cynics who voiced doubts, claiming she was pretending to be ill: “But you not looking sick.”
Coming to terms with a lupus diagnosis later, she vowed to use this painful episode to become a champion for fellow sufferers.
“Lupus wrecked my life. I had a really nice career as a broadcast journalist, but I lacked awareness and was not able to stand in my truth at the time.
"I did not even know what was happening to me. All I know was that I was struggling to get out of bed. I was in pain all the time, but when one looked at me, no one saw that I was struggling. Nobody saw my pain, I was...crying silently for help.
"Unfortunately, because I did not have the emotional intelligence and support, instead of telling the truth, I made up stories, due to my inability to communicate with people what was going on with me.”
Finding her passion from pain, Harrilal registered the Voice of Lupus Foundation and the Lupus Learning Resource Centre as an NGO in 2011.
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects millions of people worldwide, and the Voice of Lupus Foundation works to provide support, raise awareness and fund research to improve the lives of those affected by it.
[caption id="attachment_1097878" align="alignnone" width="1024"] General manager of Cara Hotels Hassel Thom with Reeanna Harrilal founder of The Voice of Lupus Foundation. Thom and Harrilal have partnered to bring awareness on lupus. -[/caption]
Harrilal has donated her home in Pleasantville, San Fernando, to give lupus a voice. Patients diagnosed at the various regional health authorities (RHAs), she said, are referred to her organisation, where they receive counselling, support and educational resources.
Her efforts to build and foster greater awareness of lupus in TT were recognised in 2022, when she was awarded the Humming Bird Gold Medal in the sphere of community service/education and empowerment.
“The nomination came as a pleasant surprise, and I am overwhelmed and humbled to be recognised and rewarded on a national level for the work I embarked on more than a decade ago,” she told the Newsday in an interview. “I thank God for His grace and mercy and for equipping me and choosing me as a worthy vessel to be used to make a difference in the lives of those who suffer silently with lupus.”
Committed to the cause, Harrilal has embarked on another level, this time to set up a free clinic to reach as many lupus sufferers as possible, "as accessing care in the public health sector is atrocious," she said.
To this end she has partnered with Cara Hotels, to buy, in the first instance, two containers. Complete with electrical fittings, each unit will cost around $80,000.
“Most medication that is used to treat lupus have debilitating side effect like vision loss, dental issues (and) becoming diabetic due to steroid use.”
To help manage those NCDs wh
