I was diagnosed with SLE in 2006 and take daily pills to manage the disease. I see my rheumatologist every four months. It affects my lungs, so on the rare occasions I had flare ups it was easy to tell because my breathing changed. The flare ups have been managed with prednisone. I sometimes have joint pain. I feel crappy if I'm out in the sun too long. Some days I experience extreme fatigue. Every single one of these symptoms is very manageable for me. I am incredibly lucky. I am able to do most everything I want without limitation from the disease.

Any who are local and want to join me on November 12th are welcome! We usually do about three miles and we'll be walking early - Vikes play at noon. :) I'm hoping for mild weather and NO SNOW... If you are not local, throw on something purple and send me a picture - your call if you want to walk or not. I will be posting pics on FB of anyone who participates with me (virtual and local), to raise awareness for the disease and also to hopefully raise some money. The first year I walked my initial goal was $250 . People were so generous that I upped my goal multiple times and ended up raising over $1,000! I'm shooting for that again this year.

If you are not interested in walking or sending me pics of you in purple (suck it up, Packer fans), that's totally fine. Either way, I hope you will consider making a donation to the Lupus Foundation of America. It's a crazy disease, manifests itself in different ways and is hard to diagnose. It took the doctors five years to determine what was wrong with me (let's be honest - the list was/is long). I am VERY fortunate to not have major symptoms or bad flare ups. I do not take that for granted, I know things could be much worse. I am walking for those who suffer from lupus in ways I can't even imagine, and hoping the funds raised will help find a cure very soon.