Marlo Hogue also known as “Raydiant The Warrior Encourager” is an International Speaker, Songwriter (ASCAP) and Singer.

She is the founder and Visionary of Adanya International. As a Lupus Warrior of 20 + years, Dialysis Veteran of 3.5 years, a Kidney Transplant of 15 years, and with 20+ surgeries under her belt, Raydiant is a Warrior well acquainted with battle. She uses compelling songwriting and captivating storytelling to encouraging Warriors, and those who do not yet know that they are, who feel overwhelmed and discouraged, to Catch Breath and Press On. She is also the founder of RaydiantNabi a platform where AutoImmune Disease Warriors can learn how to travel the world safely and enjoyably. Marlo does this through Videos, Podcasting and YouTube.

How to help protect people living with autoimmune illness during the COVID19 Pandemic

For a person who doesn’t understand what it’s like to live with an autoimmune illness, my call to action with them is if you’re sick stay home. That’s the first thing I say if you’re sick, stay home. And what we’re dealing with now with COVID-19, and the social-distancing, is that some people are not taking it as seriously as they should. We need you to stay home I would say, just because you don’t live with it doesn’t mean it’s not real, or it’s not as serious. It’s serious.

Many of us die just from being in the vicinity of people who have have something contagious. A lot of people don’t realize that you can be a carrier of something without a symptom. And that is something that is happening a lot. I’ve caught many things just being an atmosphere with people, I’ve caught things in a hospital etc. nowhere is safe unless you’re in your own home sanitized down, and you put restrictions.

I think people should realize that you may be looking strong. I know for many people, they look at me and say, “Wow, you’re sick”? You don’t look like it. Well, I mean, what does sick look like? My spirit is strong, but my body is weak. I think that’s something that people may not realize. Stay home, if you’re sick, don’t come out and just be compassionate and aware that just because a person looks okay, they may not be.

The Importance of listening to Patients

My doctors and I talk a lot when I see them, we have a conversation and, I’m grateful for this. Because, before I went into kidney failure I didn’t have great doctors, they were horrible doctors. I got the best of the best after the fact. And so, my doctors and I, talked about how can we improve the relationship between doctor and patient. We talked about that so much.

One thing my doctor told me and I’ve talked to my RaydiantNabi community about is when my doctor told me, he said Marlo, one of the things that your doctors all of us we talk about is that we talk is you and we valued that you are engaged in your healthcare. And I said, Well, what do you mean by engaged? They said, well when you come in You have questions, you have done research you write down what we’re saying, or you’ve recorded the compliant. It’s back and forth, he said, but also, as healthcare professionals, we’ve got to be a little extra. We’ve got to do some extra things, like listen to a patient, explain the diagnosis, etc.

I would, I would encourage doctors to do that. Explain better give me literature. Tell me the website I can go on that’s trusted. I’ve had times where I’ve had to say, Well, wait, where’s the paperwork? Because I want to read it myself. I can look up words, I’ve got the dictionary, I can figure it out. I’ve gone to college, you got to talk to me. In closing, I would say to healthcare workers to talk more to patients.