Williamstown resident Marven Chin and his doctor, Stephen Soloway take a trip …
Lupus is a chronic, auto-immune disease that can damage any part of the body such as the skin, joints and/or organs. Auto-immune means the immune system cannot tell the difference between foreign invaders and healthy tissues, and creates auto-antibodies that attack and destroy healthy tissue, causing inflammation, pain and damage.
After this diagnosis, Soloway began to transform Chin from the pin cushion he had become to a lupus patient.
Most of his medications were stopped cold turkey, but a few needed to be weaned off, Soloway said.
Chin said it took about six months to get him off the medications that were making him sick before beginning the process of determining what was actually making him sick.
Once Soloway could determine what Chins natural symptoms were as opposed to the side effects of all the medications, he diagnosed the patient with lupus.
Soloway started Chin on the drug IVIg which immediately began to improve his health, and now, he is taking Benlysta the first new lupus drug since 1955.
Dr. Soloway got me back on track and got me back to my normal lifestyle, Chin said gratefully. Im able to have a normal life, work 40 to 50 hours a week, and I got married and have two kids and I can keep up with them.
Now that Soloway has Chin on the right path, he continues to treat his patient.
Hell be on these medications for the rest of his life, Soloway said. Lupus is a chronic disease. It can go into remission, but it cant be cured. Its just like blood pressure. If you take your blood pressure medicine and go get your blood pressure checked, it will be normal. But you will still always have hypertension. If you dont take your medicine, it will be high again.
Now that Chin has been diagnosed correctly and is on a set medical regimen, he takes his treatments very seriously.
He clearly has the disease, but he is very strict with his treatments, Soloway said. His recovery was very fast. When he came to me, he had had symptoms for 10 years. This guy was being tortured by his own body.
Since the day Chin walked into Soloways office, the two men have bonded and become friends.
We used to joke around, saying when I was better we were going to climb the Great Wall of China together, Chin said.
So, when Soloway decided to take a trip to China, he wanted to include Chin in his plans.
Hes a Chinese patient, I saved his life and we became friends, Soloway said. I was discussing that I wanted to go to China and mentioned to him that he must love China. He said he did, so I said, Great, then youre going with me.
In spring 2011, Chin accompanied Soloway to his native land for 10 days of exploring, learning and celebrating life.
It was awesome, Chin said. Looking at the culture was awesome and the food was tremendous. The one thing we wanted to do was eat Peking duck in Beijing, and we did.
They also kept their promise to Chinas Great Wall.
He climbed the Great Wall of China which would have been completely impossible before his diagnosis and treatment, Soloway said.
In addition to large cities, Chin was also exposed to the poorer areas of the country.
We were able to see a whole different part of the world where the people live in a village near a stream where they fish, he said. They also wash their clothes and bathe in the same stream. It really put everything in perspective.
Now, Chin is a quality director for a pharmaceutical company, has rekindled his love of sports and enjoys time with his family.
Im just looking forward to spending more time with my family, he said.