I have joined Team Knaup to assist in finding a cure and to support my cousin Beverly who was diagnosed in January of 2007. She was 25 years old, a newlywed, and serving in the USAF as a Flight Test Engineer. She had typical symptoms. After seeing a rheumatologist only three months after the symptoms appeared she was diagnosed with Systematic Lupus Erythematosus. The lupus had already attacked her joints, skin, liver, bone marrow, and stomach lining.
Along with the lupus came a slew of other conditions. She takes a combination of several different medications every single day, twice a day, to suppress the symptoms of the disease. She struggles daily but yet amazes me with her courage to carry on. Bev was strongly advised not to have children, but God had other plans and blessed her and her husband with a healthy baby girl in July of 2009! She always has a positive outlook and (in her words) ... "I may have LUPUS, but it doesn't have me!" Beverly is truly an inspiration.
It is estimated that 1.5 million Americans have a form of lupus, an acute and chronic (lifelong) autoimmune disease in which the immune system is unbalanced, causing inflammation and tissue damage to virtually every organ system in the body. November 2008 marked 50 years since a drug has been approved for the treatment of lupus. There is hope on the horizon, and with your help we can find better treatments and a cure.Making a difference starts with one step.
Click on the link below to visit Beverly's blog. Once there, you can click on my name to make a donation!
http://bbeknaup.blogspot.com/2011/05/world-lupus-day.html?spref=fb
And here to watch her story in the video she made. You'll be glad you did.
http://www.facebook.com/l/99d03D73WgeqOVlU8gKI6z9uPUA/www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ijg-aggyv4
Thanks for reading!
1 comment:
I can't thank you enough for joining our team! And you've made it on the TOP WALKERS list already! You are doing great!!!
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