A few months ago, she spent two weeks in hospital after suffering from an undisclosed illness. Recently, she failed to appear before the Johannesburg Magistrates Court after she was charged, alongside two former business associates, for failing to submit their company's tax returns to SARS on time. Her lawyer told the court both times that his client was sick and even submitted medical certificates. The actress turned producer and businesswoman, Sonia Mbele, has revealed to ZiMoja that she is suffering from an autoimmune disease.

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LIVING WITH AN INCURABLE DISEASE

The 44-year-old actress revealed this in interview with ZiMoja this past weekend. Mbele spoke about her struggles with the disease. According to the mother of three, she was diagnosed with the disease a few months ago just before launching season 3 of Real Housewives of Johannesburg. "At the time I thought I was just fatigued until my doctors performed additional tests which confirmed that I have anemia that has gone chronic," she said. She said she kept the condition a secret from everyone except her family. The actress told ZiMoja that she is currently taking treatment for iron deficiency. She said that the disease has affected her life in many ways, both physically and emotionally. "I had to change my diet and eating habits, quit alcohol and I now have to go for drips to make sure I have enough iron," she added.

BEING OPTIMISTIC

Mbele said she has learnt to live with the disease and doing everything in her power to manage it. Since medication does not work on her anymore, she now goes for weekly drips and oxygen tank. "Sometimes additional tests or treatments for iron deficiency are necessary, especially if your doctor suspects that you're bleeding internally. You can usually correct iron deficiency anemia with iron supplementation," says Mbele. According to the Blood and Water actress, it's been a rough year for her but said she is grateful to those who stood by her especially her family.

WHAT IS AN AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE?

According to Mayo Clinic, an autoimmune disease is a condition in which your immune system mistakenly damages healthy blood cells in your body causing your body to produce inadequate healthy red blood cells. There are different types of autoimmune diseases including anemia, which a condition in which blood lack adequate healthy red blood cells which produces iron. Without enough iron, the body can't produce enough of a substance in red blood cells that enables them to carry oxygen (hemoglobin). Some of the symptoms of anemia include fatigue and shortness of breath.