“I’m taking care of myself because I have a family I love so much.” She says. “I want to be healthy for them, and to be a good example to my kids.”
The proof is in her increased energy and improved blood test results. Toni’s also quite a skilled chef and enjoys cooking healthy dishes for herself and friends and family. “I can pretty much cook anything, especially if I have a big recipe. I can make it my own,” she told Healthy Living magazine. “I try to eat heart-healthy. I should say illness-healthy. I have lupus, so I know cinnamon and good anti-inflammatory things and things like that. I’m not going to give you this whole thing. I could talk about cooking all day long, as you can hear.”
“I’m lucky today. I’m in a better state today than I was when I was first diagnosed,” she told the publication. “I know what to do when my body feels weird. I listen to my body now. I always try to find the silver lining in everything. Today is a good day!”
But for Toni, there have been many bad days. In 2008, Toni collapsed while performing in Las Vegas.
In the emergency room, doctors first thought she’d had a ‘baby heart attack.’ “Microvalves and the small blood vessels in my heart were receiving no oxygen,” Toni recalls. Further testing led to a diagnosis. “The blood work was undeniable,” she says. “It showed I have lupus.”
Toni discovered lupus is a lifelong disease in which the immune system attacks healthy tissue. It affects about 1.5 million Americans, mostly women, and causes a range of symptoms, from rashes and joint pain to inflammation of the heart, lungs and other organs.
“For some, it’s their skin and scalp,” Toni notes. “For me, it’s internal. It loves my heart. It’s like it wants to sit there and say, ‘Hi,’ and hang out.”
Since her lupus diagnosis, Toni has learned to manage her disease with medication and lifestyle changes, including adopting more heart-healthy habits.
She follows a metabolism-revving diet, not to lose weight but “because it helps me make better choices.” Toni also exercises daily, doing gentle workouts, like walking on a treadmill or around the neighborhood, to avoid taxing her body.
Still, there are times when her lupus symptoms return with full force. In December 2012, Toni was hospitalized when a lupus flare caused blood clots, resulting in a crisis that challenged not only her health but also her career. “The doctors said performing wasn’t something I should do,” Toni reveals. Faced with the prospect of forced retirement, the singer grew depressed.