"I was booked for a bilateral hip replacement at the age of 22." Sharan's journey and dealing with the ups + downs of chronic illness.

My name is Sharan and I was diagnosed when I was 14 years old with mixed connective tissue disease and lupus. My initial symptoms were swollen lymph nodes, Raynaud's, joint pain, nausea/vomiting, fatigue, and trouble breathing. I grew up in small town and at that time, there were no pediatric rheumatologists in my area, so I was sent to UCLA health. After receiving my diagnosis of mixed connective tissue disease and lupus on 09/15/2015, my entire world shifted.

Prior to my diagnosis I was a normal 14 year old teenager who enjoyed gymnastics. to then becoming a chronically ill teenager with no energy. I was started on steroids, chemotherapy, and other immunosuppressive medications and nothing worked to control my flares. I struggled for years to find a therapy that worked for me and I was hospitalized every year for my flares. In 2018, I got accepted to UC Irvine as a biology major and I was extremely happy that I was able to gain admission into this school given all my struggles. However, I experienced severe pain in my hips and collapsed in dorm, became wheelchair bound and withdrew from college during my first quarter.

I was diagnosed with avascular necrosis and was told I needed a bilateral hip replacement, however no surgeon would operate on me due to my young age and since my bones had not deteriorated enough. it was extremely frustrating and painful. I found a regenerative medicine clinic that gave me hope and offered me a stem cell treatment for both my hips and autoimmune disease. Within 2 days, I was walking again and within 3 months, my lupus was in remission. I was able to re-enroll at UC Irvine and continue pursuing my dream of working in healthcare. In 2020, my entire world shifted once again. I had a root canal performed and developed sepsis. I was hospitalized for 2 weeks and all my autoimmune conditions came back and I developed scleroderma. I was started on IVIG infusions for about a year and a half, but was extremely painful given I was running out of vein access. In 2022, I began to develop more hip pain and was told my hips were at a stage where they were ready to collapse from one accident or fall and I was booked for a bilateral hip replacement at the age of 22. This completely shattered me because I had plans to apply to graduate school and to become a healthcare provider, however that journey was forced to be delayed so I could focus on my health. I graduated from UC Irvine in June 2022 and had my first hip replacement in December 2022.

The healing process was brutal and I would never wish that pain upon anyone. I then had my second hip replacement in February 2023. It took me 10 months to heal from my hip replacement and I did an immense amount of physical therapy. At this time, I was also on a strong immunosuppressive infusion and chemotherapy. In May 2023, I developed a severe flare where my heart and kidney functions declined and I was taken to the emergency room and hospitalized for 4 days. At this time, I decided to return back to regenerative medicine to heal my disease.

I began by healing my gut and nervous system, which eliminated 80% of my symptoms and I started to feel better. I decided to dedicate my life and purpose to healing because my disease had already taken my hips from me- I will not let it take my heart or kidneys or any other organ in my body. I began to heal holistically, I shared my journey on TikTok and have over 16,000 people following my journey and relating to the content that I post about being chronically ill.

Today, I feel much better. I am still healing. but I am proud to say that I will be applying to graduate school soon and am a future healthcare provider with a story that is so dear to my heart and has a light at the end of the tunnel. Healing is not linear (as you can see from my story), but it is possible.

Support and find out more on TikTok @sharan.s or on Instagram @ssharann_