Put on Purple

Left to Right: Nicole, Mellow, Doug, Miranda, Jenica, Nails of Penny, Paula, Nakul

Yesterday was Lupus Awareness Day AKA Put On Purple Day. So we did just that! I also put out the word on my Facebook Page, blog, Twitter and to several friends that it was POP Day and a few of them chose to take part in the day with me! Here are some of their pictures.

The first 3 pictures are of me, my husband, and my best friend Doug. We are wearing shirts that we made! Pretty awesome right? Mellow and Doug are my main supports and have been through the toughest days of all this craziness with me. Without them I am not sure how I would have made it to this point. I truly am blessed to have them in my life.

The lady in the spiffy purple dress suit is none other than Miranda, one of my closest and longest friends. We’ve been friends since we were 5 years old. That’s 25 years and counting! I will admit to shedding a couple of tears when I saw this picture. She’s head to ankle in purple for me! I love this woman to pieces!

Jenica wore purple scrubs to show support! I have known this lady since college. We bonded during a class trip to DC and have been close since. She has Fibromyalgia so she understands the chronic illness dance and has been one of the people I have leaned on the a lot during all of this. She’s always sending me funny texts or snaps to brighten my day. It never fails no matter how busy she is, she finds a moment here and there to let me know she still cares and is there. She’s awesome!

My friend Penny painted her nails purple for POP day! We actually met online a few years ago and became good friends. She always makes me feel comfortable talking about Lupus and APS and never makes me feel like I’m being judged. I’m forever grateful for that. Plus we tend to have a lot of fun when we hang out. We can always find something entertaining to do.

This next lady, her name is Paula. I’ve only known her for a few months, but let me tell you she has become a good friend of mine already. I met her in an online support group for APS. Through conversations we have gotten to know each other and have become friends. We both were diagnosed with Lupus almost at the same exact time. We talk a lot about everything and she’s always there to remind me to keep going. She’s pretty awesome and I’m grateful to have her amongst my supports.

I met Nakul from the blogging course I did earlier this month. After I made a blog post stating that I was going to wear purple he contacted me and said he intended to do so as well. I asked him to share his picture with me and he posted it to my Facebook Page. I hope you will take a moment and check out his blog, Eat All Fresh. It is a wonderful blog about cooking and eating fresh food.

I am estatic that these folks took part in the day along with me! I know from my own experience that it made a difference. At dinner alone I had two different conversations about Lupus. The hostess asked me what Lupus was and I explained what it was. She had never heard of it before. I told her I had it, and she said she was sorry. Then when the waitress got to the table she asked if we were an organization and I told her no, and explained why we were wearing the shirts. She then told us that her mom had Lupus. I asked her how long and she told us that her mom had been diagnosed with Lupus around the age of 30, the same age I was! That seems to be a rather common age of diagnosis I am seeing.

Overall yesterday was a fantastic experience and I am glad we took part in Put On Purple. I can’t wait to do it again next year. Every little step to raise awareness is one step closer to better treatments, and hopefully one day a cure.