"For those with chronic illnesses, this day is for you" - Venus Williams shows solidarity with fans struggling from Sjorgen's syndrome
Besides being one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Venus Williams has also been an outspoken campaigner for various causes. On the occasion of World Sjogren's Day on July 23, Williams took to social media to share an informative video regarding the syndrome to raise awareness about the disease.
For those unaware, Sjogren's syndrome is a long-term auto-immune disease that affects the moisture-producing glands in the body and can even affect the kidney and nervous system most seriously. The American herself was diagnosed with the illness in 2011 and has been living with it ever since.
Reminder: Venus Williams has a debilitating auto-immune disease. #sjogrens twitter.com/yahoosports/st…
The seven-time Grand Slam champion shared a post from the Sjogren's Foundation on her Instagram Story, showing that she stood in solidarity with others who have to deal with the disease regularly in their day-to-day lives.
"For those [with] chronic illness, this day is for you" she wrote in the caption.
An incurable illness, Sjogren's syndrome affects between 0.1% to 1% of the population and is considered to be moderately frequent in its infection. The Sjogren's Foundation believes the condition affects up to 4 million Americans, with an additional 2.5 million remaining undiagnosed. However, it should be noted that the illness does not affect the life expectancy of those afflicted in any manner.
Williams has always been outspoken about her condition, opening up about her struggles to remove the stigma that has developed around the illness. Speaking in a recent interview, the 42-year-old spoke at length about how the disease prevented her from training as hard as she would have wanted, which in turn led to her feeling guilty about not putting in enough effort on the tennis court.
“Because all I have ever done is work hard and it was difficult to work hard and I still worked but I didn't want to work because I felt so bad. I would periodically go to the doctor and say I don't feel well, I can't, I'm constantly exhausted. That went on for about seven years before I got too sick," Williams said.
The start of Sjogren's syndrome for Venus Williams
In 2004, Williams began experiencing symptoms such as exhaustion and shortness of breath. She was 24 at the time, most likely in the prime years of her career. By that point, she had won four Grand Slams, including two at the US Open.
“No matter how hard I worked, I was exhausted, short of breath, and never felt in shape. It was really frustrating. My symptoms got progressively worse, to the point where I couldn’t play professional tennis anymore," Venus Williams shared her experience with Prevention.com.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion went into detail about how most people with the illness are often misdiagnosed, which was the case with her too. Thankfully, the right diagnosis, which came much later in 2011, eventually set her back on track, leading to her tennis revival once again.
“Unfortunately, that’s typical of people with autoimmune disease,” Venus Williams said. “They're misdiagnosed or too sick to function. I literally had professional tennis taken away from me before I got the right diagnosis."