Hello, All! For those who don’t know me, my name is Mariel. I’m the daughter/sister/niece/cousin/friend of the person who sent you this link ;) First of all I gotta say how incredibly grateful I am that you’re even checking this out. Lupus has been become a big part of our lives for better or for worse, but I’m glad to have this opportunity to share my story with you.

I was officially diagnosed with Lupus Nephritis November 2016. To be honest, it truly was a scary time of my life. I had just moved back home to California after a very trying year of battling other health issues while in Michigan. I moved back in August 2016 and was ready to start living life again! I had my resume all brushed up, I was dreaming up plans to move to the city with my cousins; I was traveling, going out with friends, trying to fully embrace this second chance of life after having suffered a year of mental illness.

Until, I couldn’t ignore it anymore. More than I wanted to admit, my body was slowly breaking down. Every step was taken with great effort. My days were centered around my naps and everyone was noticing. Eventually food became less and less appetizing till I finally had no strength to eat at all. The kicker for me was my rashes we’re getting out of control. I thought it could be a side effect to one of my meds; the derma thought it could be staph. A nurse friend of mine suggested might as well play it safe and go to the ER. It was with Providence we went to the ER when we did though because they ended up finding a whole slew of issues with me!

It was a lot. Especially after having just gotten my health back, it was a lot. To be honest there were multiples times I begged God that in His Mercy He would just take me now, put an end to my misery and let me come Home to Him. And at that point I was so weak I couldn’t really talk to anyone about it. Except for one night when I got to cry it out to my best friend.

And I gotta say - living with Lupus is a little bit like this. It can be a really heavy reality to live through. The endless doc appointments, lab work, all the life adjustments that need to be made in order to stay healthy and avoid any triggers that’ll put you back in the hospital. It’s a lot to take in. Especially for a 27 year old who’s supposed to be living life to the fullest, not spending her evenings organizing her medicine for the next full day. Living with Lupus can be a very isolating place to live. Because there’s so much going on, so much changing, so many things to worry about, it’s hard to really have a chance to tell someone what’s really going on. If you’re lucky you’ll have that one moment you can cry it out to your best friend. And when you do get the chance to cry it out, it’s the sweetest thing! Because if there’s one thing that can comfort any aching heart, lupus or not, it’s compassion. Someone to walk with you in your pain, someone to listen when you need to be heard, someone to hold you in you tears, someone to learn with you, to grow with you.

And this is my motivation for Walk to End Lupus Now! I walk to help spread compassion for all those who silently suffer with Lupus. It’s an isolating place to be because you feel like others wouldn’t understand, heck you barely understand what’s going on with you. And the reason for that is because there is so little awareness of what Lupus even is. I mean I had no idea what it was till I was diagnosed! And I’m still learning. So I’m walking to let those with Lupus know, you are not alone! And I’m walking to encourage everyone else to speak the same message - you are not alone!

This is an invitation to learn more about lupus! Hear the stories, hear the struggles. Learn the facts about the disease. Lupus is so scary is because it’s so unknown and so unheard of. And that is why raising funds is so important. We need to do what we can to support Lupus research so we can not only gain better understanding but so we can also one day live without the anxiety of lupus looming over our heads. So we can one day say there IS a cure for Lupus!

As for me, God has worked an amazing miracle in my life! Just a year and a half later after diagnosis, as of March 19, 2018 there are officially no signs of active Lupus in my body! I owe it all to the attentive care of my doctors and most especially to the AMAZING love and support of my family and friends. As lonely as lupus can make you feel, they have made it abundantly easier to eliminate those feelings and walk confidently knowing I’m not fighting by myself.

So I invite you to do the same. Not just for me but for all those who have lupus, especially for those who have no one to fall back on. Let’s show them our support! Let’s fight to raise awareness and support further research for Lupus! Please consider making a donation and joining us on our Walk to End Lupus Now on Sunday Oct. 21 at Golden Gate Park!

A generous contribution of $25 or $55 can make a definite impact. What's more, if your employer offers a Matching Gift Program to employees, you may be able to double your contribution with just a little bit of paperwork. Trust me, it's worth the effort! Every single dollar counts.

Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers!

God bless,
Mare :)

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Did you know?

* Lupus is a mysterious and misunderstood autoimmune disease. It strikes without warning, affects each person differently, and has no known causes or cure.

* Lupus symptoms can be severe and highly unpredictable and can damage any organ or tissue, from the skin or joints to the heart or kidneys.

* While lupus can strike anyone at any time, 90% of people living with lupus are women. Women of color are at especially high risk.

* Only one drug has ever been developed and approved by the US Food and Drug Administration specifically to treat the disease.

Together, we can solve the cruel mystery of lupus. Thank you for your generosity