Purple for Lupus Awareness

Lupus is horrible. My dear friend Erin has been battling it for the past few years. She has gone through round after round of long treatments with drugs that seem to have as many side effects as curative properties. The good news is that it seems the drugs are starting to do some good.

She talked about wearing purple for Lupus Awareness Day, but I wasn’t sure what an impact that would make. So I decided to turn my blog purple with these photos, and point you to the Lupus Foundation of America if you have questions or want to make a donation.

From their website:

Lupus is a chronic, autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body (skin, joints, and/or organs inside the body). Chronic means that the signs and symptoms tend to last longer than six weeks and often for many years. In lupus, something goes wrong with your immune system, which is the part of the body that fights off viruses, bacteria, and germs (“foreign invaders,” like the flu). Normally our immune system produces proteins called antibodies that protect the body from these invaders. Autoimmune means your immune system cannot tell the difference between these foreign invaders and your body’s healthy tissues (“auto” means “self”) and creates autoantibodies that attack and destroy healthy tissue. These autoantibodies cause inflammation, pain, and damage in various parts of the body.

And as Erin said, in one heartbreaking post:

My body needs relief, badly. I’m begging my doctor for relief today, and am begging the universe for a break. We’ve taken more than we can handle, and while reinforcements come soon, it’s not soon enough. My brother doesn’t need to be changing my sheets and trying to carry me into an ER all in a span of a few weeks. My husband deserves to train for his race. The kids deserve a Mom that can be present mind, body, and soul…not in bed hoping to lift her head off the pillow.

I don’t think that is too much to ask.

So here are some purple things for her. It’s the least I can do.

Banana flower (those little yellow things will become bananas)

My grandmother died many years ago, but her peony still blooms!

Santa Cruz Island Lupines

Kohlrabi, a delicious little vegetable.

Purple comes in all different shades, and Lupus comes in all different forms, too. Here’s hoping for an eventual cure for Erin and for all those with lupus.