Bernice Thompson
A positive attitude is a big part of Bernice Thompson's outlook on life. Regardless of illnesses and setbacks she has faced throughout her life, she says, "the only guarantee we have is to do the best we can with what we have today."
Fort Smith Counselor Pat Lee recalls, "In November of 2005, she felt like she was ready for employment; she called ARS and I was lucky enough to be her counselor. In June of 2006 she accomplished her goal of being employed in work she loves…she trained as a medical billing and coding specialist and passed the national examination with flying colors… she says her work has a lot to do with her health and her happiness."
The road to that contentment was winding. In 1988, while living in New Orleans and going to school and working, she developed major health issues that were possibly a result of being a DES baby – related to medicines that her mother took while pregnant. Then she was struck with fungal meningitis; doctors never conclusively decided how the illness occurred, since she was not HIV positive and did not work or live around a large bird population. On experimental drugs as treatment, Thompson developed even more complications. Since the age of 15, she had taken medication for a chemical imbalance, or bi-polar disorder, and with the new development she was taking some 28 meds a day. It was not the end of her struggles. At one point, she had developed a condition of excessive spinal fluid and spent several months in painful recuperation until remission set in. In 2000, she was diagnosed with lupus, which meant adding still more medication to her system.
"I was heavy before," she explains, "but with the steroids I was taking for the lupus, combined with other meds, I gained about 100 pounds until I was up to about 380."
The year 2001 was undeniably a turning point. Thompson was very ill, physically, and once her lupus was diagnosed, it progressed quickly as did her bi-polar episodes. She met with a Fayetteville psychiatrist and spent two weeks in treatment; she was in the hospital 60 days with lupus. On her doctor's recommendation, Bernice reluctantly filed for disability retirement from her job as Senior Services consultant at United Health Care.
"The next four years I spent at home, deteriorating, and on all kinds of medication," Thompson says. "Because my immune system was compromised by the lupus, there were no doctors in the area who would do a gastric bypass for me, which my primary doctor recommended for my health. Then we located a doctor at the University Med Center [in Little Rock] who was experienced with taking extra precautions in this procedure, and who agreed to do it."
Since her surgery in February 2005, Thompson has lost 215 pounds. "Once the weight was addressed," she explains, "both my physical and mental health began improving. And I no longer have to take as many medications. I knew I didn't want to just sit around the house anymore, so I got in touch with the Rehab Office and they referred me to Pat," who, she says, "was wonderful and very supportive, after she realized I was dedicated to my goals." Thompson enrolled at Petra Allied Health where she proved to be an excellent student.
Today, with her Billing & Medical Coder Specialist Certification, she is employed with Complete Medical Solutions, a private physicians' group, working 40 hours a week. She is also a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, a Christian organization, and lives with her husband, Clyde, and mother, Esther Bamburg, both of whom she cares for due to health issues. And except for the gastric bypass surgery in 2005, she has not been hospitalized for a full two years.
"Living with lupus, and with bi-polar disorder, is a daily thing," Thompson reflects. "But I made up my mind I was going to have faith… in God, family support, friends, and Pat, who was with me every step. Neither one of these illness can be in control of your life unless you let it… They make me who I am. They make me stronger, not weaker. My answer to others is to stay strong and get active with your illness; learn everything you can about it and find your own way through it. Accept what you can and own what you can not change.
"I'd like to be able to tell others: Take a chance in life! Whatever your personal problems are, ask: ‘what can we do to fix it?' and keep working at it. Today I'm much more outgoing – I didn't used to be that way, I had to work at it, and take chances – but I think it's all about focusing on the positive."
