Venus Williams Explains Her Bout With Sjögren’s Syndrome
Posted on Sep 01, 2011 @ 01:00PM
Venus Williams opened up about her bout with Sjögren’s Syndrome on Thursday's edition of Good Morning America, less than a day after leaving the U.S. Open due to constant fatigue from the condition.
The tennis ace, 31, said the ailment -- which can take up to six years to diagnose -- left her with a number of symptoms leaving her struggling on and off the court.
Venus said she suffered from swollen hands, morphing joints, dry eyes, dry mouth, pain/numbness of the hands, among other symptoms.
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"As an athlete," she said, "everything's physical for me, everything's being fit and being in shape."
She said she knew something was really wrong when she found herself feeling like she "didn't have any energy" and "beat up" all the time.
The tennis wizard kept positive about her situation, saying "The best thing that could have happened for me this summer was to feel worse, so I could get better.”
Watch the video on RadarOnline.com
Venus said it will take 3-6 months to begin recovering from the incurable disease, and that she feels positive about eventually being able to get back on the court.
She said the good news is that she knows what she's suffering from and how she can deal with it; and that, hopefully, her celebrity status will promote awareness of the disease.
We wish Venus our best in her battle.
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The Daily Juice
Apr 24, 2012 @ 07:30
Amazon woman!!!
Posted Fri, 09/02/2011 - 1:21am
So young to be so sick. I wish her well.
Posted Thu, 09/01/2011 - 8:06pm
Poor lady, what a bummer to be an athlete in her prime and have this happen. It's great that she's had the courage to speak up about what's going on and I wish her the best in the future, on and off the court.
Posted Thu, 09/01/2011 - 2:39pm
Sorry to hear about this. Like her positive attitude, and the fact that she wants to use her high profile
to help others. The symptom that concerns me is "morphing joints".
Posted Thu, 09/01/2011 - 1:48pm
Sjorgen's itself isn't bad. It sometimes accompanies another more serious autoimmune disease like Crohn's, ulcerative colitis, or lupus.
Posted Thu, 09/01/2011 - 12:50pm
Anything in the auto-immune family isn't really good. Hope she doesn't end up with another auto-immune disease as well, as you say can sometimes happen.
Posted Thu, 09/01/2011 - 2:40pm
I have quite a few people in my family with Sjorgen's and it really isn't hard to manage, even in severe cases. I'm not trying to downplay it, just put it in perspective.
Posted Thu, 09/01/2011 - 3:35pm