Her Journey To Now...A Blog: Lupus Awareness

Lupus? What's that? I've never heard of Lupus? Isn't that an old person disease? Sounds like it a white person disease to me! Oh, I've heard of it, but it's nothing that I can get...is it?

I'm sure those that have or knows someone with lupus has heard some or all of these questions from those of us that are not educated on this autoimmune disease. I have to admit that I had no idea what type of disease it was myself prior to having the opportunity to shoot a charity basketball game in honor of Lupus Awareness Month(May).

According to the Lupus Foundation of America (lupus.org), "Lupus is a chronic, autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body (skin, joints, and/or organs inside the body). 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). Lupus is also a disease of flares (the symptoms worsen and you feel ill) and remissions (the symptoms improve and you feel better)."

I have a family member that is currently living a full life despite having lupus. I've seen the dramatic weightless and the "flares", however, under her doctors care and her never compromising faith, she is the happy, loving woman I've always known. She lives her life having Lupus and not letting Lupus have her.

As I mentioned before this past Saturday I had the pleasure of being one of the photographers to cover Blaq Pearl Entertainment's 2nd Annual Balling for Lupus Charity Basketball. Bo-Talley and her team put on an amazing event. It was fun and very informative. Many heavy hitters/celebrities walked the VIP "purple carpet" (purple is not only my favorite color, but also the color for lupus). The attendees/players or coaches included; Mama Ca$h (momager of rapper Ca$hout & star of Celebrity Moms), Robin 'Jvet' Mobley (Radio & TV personality, founder of Age No Factor), Deb Antney (CEO of Mizay Ent), Dice Dixon (VH1's Lala's Full Court Life), Michelle Snow (former WNBA player), Blu (Oxygen's Bad Girls Club), Neffe (Reality star, Frankie & Neffe), Rae Robinson (Founder of Hip Hop 4Cancer), Beautii J (reality star, Cutting It in the ATL), Tara B (RnB singer), and many others.

It was hosted by Streetz 94.5 Bria Janelle (who also had the funniest commentary during the game) with female Dj Roots Queen on the 1s & 2s. The national anthem was sung by RnB singer, Jakarta Gaines. Bo-Talley held a pre-game lunch for the honorees, all of whom was presented with a token of appreciation and love during halftime. The event in my opinion was put together wonderfully and was a success!!!

I look forward to being apart of it again next year!! Oh and the Purple Team defeated the White team in OT!!!! And did I mention all the players were female!!!!!! It was a great game check out the pics below...

Before you go here are a few more facts on lupus from Lupus Foundation of America website:

These are some additional facts about lupus that you should know:

Lupus is not contagious, not even through sexual contact. You cannot "catch" lupus from someone or "give" lupus to someone.
Lupus is not like or related to cancer. Cancer is a condition of malignant, abnormal tissues that grow rapidly and spread into surrounding tissues. Lupus is an autoimmune disease, as described above.
Lupus is not like or related to HIV (Human Immune Deficiency Virus) or AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). In HIV or AIDS the immune system is underactive; in lupus, the immune system is overactive.
Lupus can range from mild to life-threatening and should always be treated by a doctor. With good medical care, most people with lupus can lead a full life.
Our research estimates that at least 1.5 million Americans have lupus. The actual number may be higher; however, there have been no large-scale studies to show the actual number of people in the U.S. living with lupus.
More than 16,000 new cases of lupus are reported annually across the country.
It is believed that 5 million people throughout the world have a form of lupus.
Lupus strikes mostly women of childbearing age (15-44). However, men, children, and teenagers develop lupus, too. Most people will develop lupus between the ages of 15-44.
Women of color are two to three times more likely to develop lupus than Caucasians.
People of all races and ethnic groups can develop lupus.