Do You Walk the Talk?
Do You Walk the Talk?
Why is Walking a Great Way to Help Solve the Mystery of Lupus?
In a couple of weeks, I will join my first Lupus Walk event. Not that I had never heard about them, nor been invited to join one, I was just not ready to participate.
When I say, I was not ready to participate, I mean I could not face to myself and others my condition. For years, I pretended it was not happening, thinking if I just ignored and continued to live as everything would go back to normal.
Lupus brings a sense of embarrassment, impotence, which is a widespread feeling in lupies. But why? Why does this condition come with such self-prejudice and self-judgment over something we cannot control?
My World Is Not As Perfect As Yours
Accepting lupus means admitting a part of our body is broken.
It means facing the fact we cannot pursue things on a pace others can.
It means confronting our energy deficit which can knock us down anytime, for days, months, or years.
It’s realizing we are sleeping with the enemy, and never know when the self-attack will happen.
Our imperfectly perfect anti-bodies, damage our healthy organs, causing all sorts of problems. We are defenseless and vulnerable to common diseases and can be harmed at any time, with minimum notice.
The physical and emotional pains that it brings are real, even though the illness may be invisible to the human eyes.
I don’t want to accept I cannot do things as I used to, much less assume that I don’t know when I will be able to control my own body.
Keep Walking
It took me years, and one long and unforgettable flare to decide to speak up and be more involved in the lupus fight.
After feeling powerless when talking to my employer and healthcare system, I realized the only way to fix this issue is through education. People need to understand what it is and the impact on people’s lives.
No label, no pity, no excuses. Educate the community so they can be involved and help find a cure.
I wonder what would be the impact if all the millions of people with autoimmune diseases would voice their needs and raise attention to this cruel condition.
Fighting for this cause today may save millions of young adults who have yet to be diagnosed. Teenagers may suffer pain and shame for years before the right doctor can identify the disease. On average, it takes about 7 years of chronic pain, rashes, extreme fatigue, fear, and depression until the news.
I decided to walk for me, and for all my brothers and sisters in lupus who I don’t know names nor faces. Together, voice up the need for a change, calling out the attention of our government and community that something significant needs to be fixed.
It Is Just Like That
About 10 years ago, I had no idea what lupus was. Now I do.
If you do not have a national walk event near you, or are not feeling ready to register, become a virtual participant. Spread the word about lupus and fight for a change within your community and friends.
Health is only lost once. So, in my opinion, we must do everything possible before the worse happens. Prevention, education, awareness, and investment.
We all can have a role in this. Consider joining the walk to end lupus, in-person or virtually. Visit www.lupus.org to learn more.
Keep walking.
Yours truly,
Hope
“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” – Helen Keller
