I was recently asked by verywell.com to help them spread some information about Lupus. Um, hello?! WHAT AN HONOR! And it could not have been more fitting for me to include their information in a post when I’m shouting out to the world that May 10th is World Lupus Day! I was very flattered that they had asked me to share a link that was written by Jeri Jewett-Tennant. When I dug a little deeper, I was touched that Jeri , who is a medical writer and research coordinator, was compelled to write about Lupus because she met people who had Lupus symptoms for 10 years before they even knew what it was. This mysterious disease sparked her desire to help many others by writing about it. The article that Jeri contributed to verywell.com has been medically reviewed by a board-certified physician and it was recently updated as of May 1, 2019. In other words, this info is current and totally legit.

Here’s why those two traits for an article on Lupus matter: 1. Lupus is a mysterious disease. The more current information you can find on it, the better. 2. A lot of times medical research is dated or just reading it can seem like learning a foreign language. 3. Oddly enough, for being a mysterious disease there are so many details. Having a medical writer and a physician review the information is necessary to keep it all straight.

Right after my cousin Pia passed away from complications brought on by Lupus, I wrote a post called Purple Pinches. Gosh, I re-read the post to compare notes on what I knew about Lupus back then (2016) versus what I just learned from the article written for verywell.com (2019). Jeri lays out the information in a way that is easy to read, she provides links for additional information and she uses icons that are fresh and relatable for anyone. Even In Purple Pinches, I had stated that the information that I was including wasn’t sexy. If you have time, please read both Purple Pinches and An Overview of Lupus. But if you only have time for one, please just read An Overview of Lupus. There is a noticeable difference between what I knew back then and what this link provides.

For the last sixteen years, World Lupus Day has been celebrated on May 10th. This is when the concept of Thoughtful Pinch is not about the little gifts that you can pinch someone for this nationally recognized day. Instead, it is about the awareness we can create for ourselves and for others. According to the Lupus Foundation of America, it takes an average of 6 years before someone is diagnosed with Lupus. By clicking on one or all of the Lupus links within this post, not only are you educating yourself {with the available information} about Lupus, but your wisdom, knowledge and care could possibly help someone get diagnosed a lot sooner than 6-10 years. Think about how much suffering you can prevent for someone you care about. We’re all busy, but we’re all thoughtful too. Make time to click on a link.

If you wear purple on May 10th chances are someone will compliment your choice in color. Right then and there you can say, “Purple is for World Lupus Day!” That one phrase alone brings awareness to the disease. It gives Lupus a voice.

Pinches,

Barb