Thank you for visiting my fundraising page! Donating through this website is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to support my fundraising efforts.

My Story: 

On June 5th, 2001 my day started just like any other normal day. I was finishing up my 8th grade year & looking forward to my 14th birthday on the following day. Little did I know that my life was never going to be the same after that day. 

During the day I started to feel sick, weak, & short of breath. After I left school that day, my mother noticed the severity of my condition and rushed me to the local hospital. The doctors began to run test after test, performing x-rays, and a lumbar puncture, and kept arriving at a universal conclusion: they were stumped. The x-rays showed that there were masses around my heart and lungs and my parents were delivered earth-shattering information. The doctors informed them that if I did not get to Philadelphia immediately to see a specialist... I could die. 

I turned 14 in the back of an ambulance that was rushing me the 130 miles to the ICU at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. I spent a week there while the specialists tested me over and over again to find the cause of my ailments. They were about to test me for leukemia when they finally came to my family with a diagnosis: lupus. The first thing I asked was whether or not I was going to die, which was answered with, “Not today you’re not!” My second question was if it was ever going to go away, which was answered with, “Lupus is treatable... but no, there is no cure.”

I can still remember how I felt after they started me on treatments to get my lupus under control. The doctors suggested that I should try walking around the hospital wing to get my strength back, and I did as I was told. I remember counting the steps that I could take before I had to stop from exhaustion or shortness of breath. 10-11-12-13 and I would have to sit down; I had just turned 14 and I could barely walk! It was horrifying for me, but I refused to give up.  

I was released from the hospital and began my journey towards remission. It was a long and extremely difficult process with many setbacks and tears. However, my determination to stay healthy has rarely faltered and I have taken huge strides to remain in remission. This coming Saturday will be eight years since my battle with lupus began, and isn’t it ironic that I will running in The 5k Lupus Loop in Lancaster. At the peak of my sickness I could not make it around a hospital wing once without sitting down, and now I am able to participate in this event. Each and every time I go for a run I always find myself counting my strides: 90-91-92-93 and I usually lose count after 100 and start over at 1! 

I’ve beat the odds once before and now I want to prove my old doctors wrong for telling me there is not a cure for lupus. Any donation (big or small) will bring researchers one step closer to finding a cure for me and millions of other people that suffer from lupus. 

I appreciate any donation, thoughts, or prayers that you have to offer. 

Always,

Sarah