October’s Lupus Awareness Month wear purple to bring awareness to the disease. Lupus is an autoimmune disease that could take years to diagnose because symptoms can disguise as other illnesses. The disease produces autoantibodies that attack healthy cells, including skin, joint, heart, lungs, kidneys, and brain. Lupus affects approximately 1.5 million Americans, mostly women.
Pregnancy can trigger the disease due to women of childbearing years being more at risk of having Lupus. Researchers believe that estrogen plays a role in disease development, but the actual cause of the disease unknown. Environmental factors play a role in the disease such as; exposure to the sun, stress, and smoking can spark an outbreak. Some of the symptoms associated with Lupus are; butterfly shaped rash on the face, feeling severely fatigue, extreme weight
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Kimberly Ruffin was normal child growing up playing different sports and cheerleading. After, she would become severely fatigue, but doctors just thought it was because of all the extracurricular activities. She continued being active in sports throughout her adolescence years.
At the tender age of 20, Kimberly Ruffin life changed forever. After the birth of her daughter, Ruffin was diagnosed with Lupus. “Lupus affects my everyday life. I am fatigued most of the time and the sun is the worst. Summertime is the worst for me. I am always getting sunburn and it causes severe pain, and my joints like you cannot imagine. I have to wear sunglasses year round to protect my eyes from the sun. The sunlight causes my eyes to swell and lips become irritated, “ said Ruffin.
Although, Lupus is curable there are still many complications with the disease. “There are pains constantly in your body throughout all your joints. You have to keep fighting because Lupus is the silent killer. I want to be a living witness that Lupus doesn’t rule me, instead I am determine to win, said