LI Woman Back To Marathons With Lupus: 'It Doesn't Take Over'

WESTBURY, NY —Sasheen Reid was the picture of health and success in her 30s: a physician's assistant who ran marathons and who just had her second child. Almost suddenly, she began feeling ill. The Westbury resident began feeling extremely fatigued, her joints started aching and she was losing patches of hair.

Getting a diagnosis of lupus in 2018 devastated Reid, she told Patch, and she imagined some of the worst outcomes she encountered working in the medical field. But she knew she was lucky to be diagnosed and started on medicine within only two months.

"A lot of people go years without getting diagnoses, because the symptoms can be so vague. I was bummed out mentally but knew I wanted to preserve my lifestyle."

Reid, an avid runner, felt well enough to run the New York City marathon pregnant with her third child. After her daughter's birth, however, she entered a severe lupus flare that changed that.

"It was hard to even walk. I couldn't run—it was horrible," she remembered.

Her rheumatologist referred her to a drug trial being run by Northwell Health's Manhasset-based Feinstein Institutes. The trial is testing whether early intervention with Benlysta—normally used in later progression of the autoimmune disease—can change the course of the disease and prevent the worst outcomes.

For Reid, although she can't be sure if she's getting a placebo weekly shot or the medicine, the trial made a huge difference. Her blood markers improved, and her joint inflammation finally improved enough that she was allowed to begin running again.

Now, she has her sights set on another marathon: New York City, in 2023.

Finishing another marathon after her health battles "would be a huge accomplishment," she says.

She needs time to work back up to her previous fitness levels. And running looks a bit different for her now. She has to carefully protect her skin from the sun, running in hats and even stopping to reapply sunblock during long runs.

But Reid wants others diagnosed with autoimmune conditions to know that the news doesn't have to mean the end of an entire lifestyle.

"If you work with your doctors, you can get back to your normal lifestyle. Sometimes I miss my pre-lupus life but I am learning to embrace this new life. It doesn't take over."