Lupus Foundation of America Blog

Well, I still haven't had time to get that video up and running. We're actually going to be at home this weekend so hopefully I'll have time to get that done. I did want to note that the Lupus Foundation of America was kind enough to make note of my efforts on their blog. Check it out here. Thanks!

Newsradio 1250 AM interview

More press for lupus! I'm being interviewed early tomorrow morning for a prerecorded interview that will be played on Newsradio 1250 AM! You can listen to it on the internet from here. I'll post when I have more details.

Also, on a side note I had a request that I accept donations through paypal. I'm going to see what I can get set up. Stay tuned and thanks to everyone for their support so far!

Help support lupus research!

I promise the video from my 35 mile training run will be posted soon. It's too long for youtube.com so I have to edit it and haven't had time yet. Until then, help support lupus research! Being politically active is cool!

The below text is from the Lupus Foundation:

Help Secure More Funds for Lupus Research and Education:

Send an email to your U.S. Representative and United States Senators and urge them to become a co-sponsor of the Lupus REACH Amendments Act of 2007 . Go to the LFA Advocacy Action Center - enter your zipcode and click GO .

Ask your family members, friends, neighbors, and co-workers to join you in this effort to enact legislation that will heighten federal efforts to find the causes of and cure for lupus, and to educate the public, health professionals, and people with lupus about symptoms, health effects, and treatments.

Lupus Email

I got this email the other day from someone who came across this website:

I would like to thank you for running for lupus. I have suffered with this disease for over 20 years. Unfortunately, I am becoming more disabled by the day. I would like to see this disease stopped with this generation. It pains me to think that others would have to live a life of pain and limitations. Thank you!

I've been getting nervous as the race nears and this message certainly is a poignant reminder that the nearly $2,000 all of you have given has already made this effort a success. It is also a meaningful reminder that lupus is a very painful and debilitating part of many people's lives. Thank you for your support.

Scott Sigler Fans Unite Against Lupus!

No word from Scott Sigler, but someone called my phone last night and the caller ID said that it was Perry Dawsey. I thought that he was just some character from one of Scott's book. He left a message nearly as incoherent as Scott's. I guess Perry never recovered from the "incident" in Adrian, MI. Alien attacks will do that to you. He ranted about chicken scissors and the failure of Scott's fans to save him. He survived to the end of the book, so I'm not sure what he's so mad about.

Anyway, Perry said that 40,000 Scott Sigler Junkies may not have been able to keep him whole through Infested, but that doesn't mean they can't help save other people from a terrible disease called Lupus.

Lupus is a very real autoimmune disease that can affect various parts of the body, including the skin, joints, heart, lungs, blood, kidneys and brain. Normally the body's immune system makes proteins called antibodies, to protect the body against viruses, bacteria, and other foreign materials. In an autoimmune disorder like lupus, the immune system cannot tell the difference between foreign substances and its own cells and tissues. The immune system then makes antibodies directed against itself. These antibodies cause inflammation, pain and damage in various parts of the body. The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) estimates between 1.5 - 2 million Americans have a form of lupus, but the actual number may be higher. Although epidemiological data on lupus is limited, studies suggest that more than 16,000 Americans develop lupus each year.

My mother-in-law, as well as other of my family and friends have lupus. In just over a month, I'll be running a 50-mile ultramarathon to raise money for the Lupus Foundation of America. My goal is to raise $5,000. If only 1,000 of you Scott Sigler fans come through and donate $5 each this will blow the top off my goal. Hell, if you can take over amazon.com, you can help put an end to lupus.

Donate $5 now by clicking here or on the "Donate Now" button to the right and help me run like I'm being chased by an Ancestor.

(Help me even more! Digg this page, blog about it, email your friends, link to it, anything and everything helps! You know someone with lupus.)

Beware of Scott Sigler

I think that the notorious author Scott Sigler has been working too hard on his latest book, Infested, which will be coming out in 2008. He emailed me some bizarre, nearly incoherent message that revolved around the estimated 1.5 - 2 million Americans who have a form of lupus. Scott said that in lupus the immune system cannot tell the difference between foreign substances and its own cells and tissues. The immune system then makes antibodies directed against itself. These antibodies -- called "auto-antibodies" -- cause inflammation, pain and damage in various parts of the body. Scott sounded pretty mad about the whole thing. Honestly, it was more than a little scary. That guy is weird.

Here's the really scary part. This morning, when I woke up, the chicken scissors were missing from my kitchen. I'm afraid that this may be part of Scott's misguided plan to stop the spread of lupus. Someone tell Scott he's been working too hard on his horror novel Infested--Chicken scissors cannot cure lupus! Only donating to the Lupus Foundation of America will help!

To be continued...

Lupus and Ethnicity

Do you want to know more about lupus? Join a live chat online about lupus and ethnicity on their website. Information is below:

Next Lupus Live Chat www.lupus.org

Wednesday, July 11 3:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time Ethnicity and Lupus

One of the disturbing mysteries of lupus is that it differentially affects patients by ethnic group. Why do ethnic minorities such as Hispanics/Latinos and African-Americans experience more active, aggressive lupus? Why are these groups younger when the symptoms appear? Why do the symptoms appear so suddenly? Ethnicity and Lupus will be the topic of the next Lupus Live Chat scheduled for Wednesday, July 11 on the Lupus Foundation of America website. The live chat begins at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight time.

Guest Speaker: Dr. Gary Gilkeson

Lupus

Despite the fact that I've dedicated my run and, frankly, at least as much time as I have spent training to raising money for the Lupus Foundation of America, I have not yet had a post about it. Part of this is because I believe many people feel inundated by stories about things that they should contribute to. It's part of the information age that we live in. So, while I try not to bring it up on a regular basis for strategic reasons, it is worth mentioning. A lot of diseases get attention. They should. Below is some information about Lupus. Pay attention to the demographic. Someone you know has Lupus. They are probably embarrassed to tell you. You probably wouldn't know what it was or what it meant even it they told you. If you haven't donated, please think about doing so. At the very least, send this to someone you know.

This text comes from the Lupus Foundation Website:

"Lupus is an autoimmune disease that can affect various parts of the body, including the skin, joints, heart, lungs, blood, kidneys and brain. Normally the body's immune system makes proteins called antibodies, to protect the body against viruses, bacteria, and other foreign materials. These foreign materials are called antigens.

In an autoimmune disorder like lupus, the immune system cannot tell the difference between foreign substances and its own cells and tissues. The immune system then makes antibodies directed against itself. These antibodies -- called "auto-antibodies" (auto means 'self') -- cause inflammation, pain and damage in various parts of the body.

Inflammation is considered the primary feature of lupus. Inflammation, which in Latin means "set on fire," is characterized by pain, heat, redness, swelling and loss of function, either on the inside or on the outside of the body (or both).

For most people, lupus is a mild disease affecting only a few organs. For others, it may cause serious and even life-threatening problems. Although epidemiological data on lupus is limited, studies suggest that more than 16,000 Americans develop lupus each year.

The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) estimates between 1.5 - 2 million Americans have a form of lupus, but the actual number may be higher. More than 90 percent of people with lupus are women. Symptoms and diagnosis occur most often when women are in their child-bearing years, between the ages of 15 and 45.

In the United States, lupus is more common in African Americans, Latinos, Asians, and Native Americans than in Caucasians."

P.S. Happy Father's Day! Dad, you are cew (cew=slang for cool).