Strength under fire. Lark Voorhies opened up to her Instagram followers about waging an ongoing battle against lupus, sharing an open letter to the disease via her personal account on Thursday, Dec. 3.
"Dear Lupus," the note begins. "You came uninvited like the thief you are. You invaded my body and my life silently and you have no mercy. You have stolen my life's work, my health, my vision of myself. You tear at my relationships with relentless teeth rending and damaging wherever and whenever you can."
From there, the letter takes a turn. The Saved by the Bell alum, 41, goes on to say she will not be defined by the disease, nor will she let it ruin her life.
"However, you forgot when you planned your war. I am more than my work. Relationships worth having heal [or] stand steady under attack," the note reads. "I continue to rise again and again to reinvent myself. And most important, there is a part of me you can never touch without my permission, my soul. I am God's child and you can never take from me what I refuse to give."
In a follow-up post a few hours later, she wrote, "WARRIOR. LOVER. DAUGHTER. AUTHOR. SPIRIT. FIGHTER. FRIEND. ACTRESS. A WITNESS. I am a fighter / Because I know someday / That things will be brighter / And I will find a way."
Alongside the poem, she included photo of herself standing by a window, bathed in sunlight. "I am a lover, holding on to the possibility, that, I might discover, a person that has virility," she wrote. "I am, a romantic, my desires, are unwired, trying to be, sycophantic, easily I become sired."
The next day, Dec. 4, the '90s star shared yet another personal post, this time addressing persistent, ongoing rumors that she struggles with mental health issues. Her mother, Patricia, has claimed in the past that Voorhies has bipolar disorder, which the actress denies.
"To whom it may concern. I feel as if I should be addressing this, and I will be addressing this one last time, only," she began. "I in no way suffer from any sort of mental health issues. My oversensitive, tenderhearted & concerned mother has made some incorrect and worrisome statements regarding my mental health status that were said and stated at times that were convenient for her, and we both will be clearing the air together in an upcoming interview very soon."
She concluded the post with a note about the future, writing, "Your continued support has meant everything to me these past few years and I can't wait to be back on your TV screens! God Bless. My Jehovah. LV."
Voorhies most recently made headlines for her quickie Las Vegas marriage to Jimmy Green. The two eloped earlier this year; she filed for divorce in October.
