World Lupus Awareness Day

Today is World Lupus Awareness Day.  This cause is important to me because my grandma suffers from this disease.  She is sick frequently, medication only works for a short period of time before it stops working all together.  She has her good days, but her bad days are really bad.  Before we knew what was wrong she had been sick for so long, she basically weighed 80 pounds.  No one knew why she was ill.  It's upsetting that so many, including doctors, are unfamiliar with Lupus.  Even with treatment today she catches every little cold and virus that is going around.  I don't even take my kids (her great grand children) over to visit if one is remotely showing signs of having something because I don't want to pass it along to her.  So this post is just my small contribution to help spread the word about Lupus.

You can go over to the World Lupus Day website to read more about the disease.  I've pulled this informative paragraph from that site if you don't have time to check it out.  "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.  Every day, more than 5 million people worldwide struggle with the often debilitating health consequences of lupus, a potentially fatal autoimmune disease capable of damaging virtually any part of the body, including the skin, heart, lungs, kidneys, and brain."  The Lupus Foundation of America website is also a great site full of resources and information. 

Purple is the official color for Lupus awareness.  The butterfly is the symbol for Lupus.  I chose to wear Color Club Eternal Beauty (2 coats) and I stamped a butterfly with a plain black creme over each nail.  No topcoat.  And please go to the end of the post to see other bloggers that are also supporting World Lupus Awareness Day!