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Sonia Guillen's Fundraising Page
Page Creator: Sonia Guillen
Event: Walk For Lupus Now 2009 - Union County
Event Starts: Oct 4, 2009
Team Name: Team Ņo
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Thank you for your support!
About my nonprofit:
Lupus Foundation of America - New Jersey Chapter
OUR MISSION:
  • Provide information and referral for those affected by Lupus.
  • Promote the development and enhancement of health and social welfare services at the local level to assist individuals...
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So far I have raised: $4,040.00
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My personal message:

My story….. Knowledge is a powerful tool which is acquired by road of life. Since an early age, I was very sensitive to sun exposure. I would burn very badly but just attributed to my fairness. Although, Cuban and it is presumed that I would have the olive skin tone, my completion is very fair.   I remember one summer getting blisters in my back from a day at the beach and burning up from fever.

When in my late teens, I would feel tired, sluggish and have hair loss and then feel fine for awhile. One of the most difficult things for me was listing these complaints which shouldn’t be attributed to someone so young. My primary doctor at the time would send me for blood work but since they were just routine test all that ever came up was that I was anemic. A simply cold turned to bronchitis with a hospital stay of 2 weeks.
 
Then, my complaints got worse. I started running a fever and ended in the hospital for over 2 weeks. At that point, the blood work came back with significant negative readings with the White Cell counts which made it necessary to do extensive testing to rule out Leukemia. After 2 weeks of poking and probing, nothing was determined to be the cause. My doctor suggested I get routine blood work. When finally in my early 20s I asked him straight out, why I was always so tired etc.? He said to me, “you have a condition that your antibodies attack your system so that when you developed a condition we will treat it.” That was the wrong answer which I learned the hard way.
 
Then, I started getting very bad pains in my joints and having difficulty walking. My mother got so frighten and thought I had rheumatic fever that she pleaded with me to let her take me to a doctor, a rheumatologist, in New York City. The pain and walking was so bad at that point that I agreed. The doctor who was treating me declined to provide me with copies of my medical record so I quickly obtained copies of hospital reports. That’s when I read the notes referencing “SLE” but didn’t bother to look into it until my new doctor started me on a regiment of cortisone and other medications. It took 3 years of up and downs (flares) to get me at a stable point. By then, I had looked into educating myself on Lupus and joined a support group.
 
Now over 25-years later, several hospital visits with poking and probing and some scary possibilities, skin and kidney biopsies, exploratory surgery to save my hips, 2 hip replacements and a hip replacement revision, I embrace my bad days as much as my good days. I thank God for being one of the very lucky ones. I couldn’t have done it without my family, friends and my doctor, Dr. Szteinbok. Yes, my life partner, Lupus and I are on to a walk.
 
Life is great. I take the good with the bad. Thank you for letting me share my story.
 
Sonia

Online Sponsors to date:
Display Name Date Amount  Comment
Sonia 10/3/2009 $100.00 Thank you all for your support! 
Maria and Luis Zambrano 10/2/2009 $30.00 Sigas siendo fuerte!!! Te Queremos Muchismo!! 
george & susan kokulis 10/2/2009 $100.00 good luck! 
Anonymous 10/1/2009 $100.00  
You go girl. Abrazos Becky 10/1/2009 $25.00  
Anonymous 9/29/2009 $150.00 You fill our hearts with Love and Happiness!!!! 
Alba Berazate & Mom 9/29/2009 $50.00 GOD bless you! You're an inspiration, keep smiling & fun walking... HE will never let you tire!  
Eneida y Gerardo Aguila 9/28/2009 $25.00 Que Dios de Bendiga 
R. Andrew de Pass 9/28/2009 $100.00 Great cause!  
THE LOPEZ FAMILY 9/25/2009 $50.00 Never give up... we love you very much !! 
for Sonia 9/21/2009 $650.00 We're proud of you, Sonia! 
Ken & Karen 9/18/2009 $30.00  
Marilou Young 9/17/2009 $25.00 You and I are warriors and we don't let anything keep us down! 
Irma Davidson-Gomez 9/17/2009 $50.00 Congratulations, keep that smile!!! 
Zulema and Clemens 9/17/2009 $25.00 You go, Girl! 
Sara Campbell 9/16/2009 $25.00 As a united front, we will help find cure 
Anonymous 9/16/2009 $500.00  
Anonymous 9/16/2009 $100.00  
Sarah Black 9/16/2009 $50.00 "Keep going, be strong, he's got your back..". 
Vinita Tudor 9/15/2009 $50.00 Good luck on the walk!!!! "God Bless" 
Anonymous 9/15/2009 $20.00 Always remember, tough times don't last tough people do! 
Lucy Maturo 9/15/2009 $25.00 Proud of you 
Juan, Ivonne, Melissa, Ariana & Isabel 9/10/2009 $25.00 You are our strongest butterfly. Your love & spirit will conquer all! 
Tios Erena y Juanico Carvaja 9/10/2009 $25.00  
Joann McGrath 9/10/2009 $25.00 Best of luck in this very worthwhile cause! 
Beth Musto 9/10/2009 $50.00 Lupus is no match for you. Stay strong and wonderful. 
Anonymous 9/10/2009 $50.00  
Carmen & Gimbert 9/8/2009 $100.00 Mi prima te quiero, God bless you always. Walk on babe... 
Christine George-Yadgaroff 9/8/2009 $50.00 Good Luck, you deserve it! 
Al & Jan Zapata 9/8/2009 $35.00 You are a blessing in our lives and we love you! 
Elizabeth Nieto 9/8/2009 $50.00 I'll be thinking of you 
Sandi Kim-Suk 9/7/2009 $100.00 Good going Sonia! 
Jim Devlin 9/6/2009 $100.00 Godspeed! - you're a role model for us all. 
David Abrams 9/5/2009 $50.00  
Rick, Donna, Scott and Tanya 9/4/2009 $100.00 May the good Lord continue to bless you and your family.  
Ann DePaola 9/4/2009 $50.00 I remember some of the bad days! Thank God for all of the good days! Keep going, Soni!! 
Myrna Cruz 9/4/2009 $50.00 Many blessings to you! 
Liz Kaufman 9/4/2009 $100.00 Cheers to you, Sonia - you're a real winner! 
Anonymous 9/4/2009 $25.00 You'll be in my thoughts! Hope it's a great day. 
Bill McNamee 9/4/2009 $100.00 I will be with you in spirit Go get-em! 
Cynthia Rivera 9/4/2009 $50.00 You are an inspiration to all of those who say "I can't".. God bless you~!. 
Bill Cary 9/4/2009 $50.00 God Bless you always 
Alyson Hopkins 9/4/2009 $25.00 You go girl!!!! 
Angela Hriscisce 9/4/2009 $25.00 May angels always be by your side. You go girl!!! 
Magaly Guillen 9/4/2009 $100.00 Yo tengo fe en Dios para la cura 
Luis Bucky Cabrera 9/4/2009 $25.00 one thing I remember are the braces  
Carmen 9/3/2009 $50.00 You are a strong woman, inside and out! Walk on! 
Jane (One of the Fab 4) Keep Going Soni! 9/3/2009 $50.00  
fran inocencio 9/3/2009 $25.00 i will think of you on your day! bravo! 
Katie 'Trouble' Burns 9/3/2009 $50.00 You Go Girl! 
Verisign secure site-- click to verify
* Total raised online: $3,815.00
Amount raised offline: $225.00
Grand Total: $4,040.00
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