Dear editor:
Once again, we are a part the ArkansasGives Day which is Thursday, April 6, 2017, and we are requesting the public to support the cause of Lupus. This organization has been operating in Hot Springs since October 1993 working as volunteers to educate the public about the cruel disease lupus.
I was surprised and saddened to hear that a young woman passed away last week due to complications of lupus. She was a young woman I had talked to numerous times and now she leaves behind two young children. To top it off, her mother was in the hospital when she passed away. It was the mother who gave me the information that her daughter had passed away after being hospitalized for a month or so.
The public generally sees a lupus patient walking around and most people will say, "you don't look sick," but they only need to see that patient when he/she is at home with tears because of the pain and fatigue. I have often said if the public could see a lupus patient in a flare, something would be done about this cruel, complex, unpredictable disease lupus.
You can stop smoking, use condoms, eat properly and exercise to prevent some diseases, but not this one, lupus. This disease is cruel because it is hard for a patient to make plans and if you do follow through with the plans, the pain and fatigue will be right there by your side. I am one lupus patient who does travel and it never fails, I always get sick. This is one reason we must learn to cope with the disease. We must realize the urgency of lupus. It is cruel.
Thursday, April 6, is ArkansasGives Day which is a day for the public to choose their favorite nonprofit charity organizations to make a special donation to. The Lupus Foundation of Arkansas Inc. is hoping that you will consider us as one of those organizations. We have remained in operation all of these years because the public has supported the cause of lupus. All donations are tax deductible and they must be made online by going to: http://www.arkansasgives.org from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Look for our name and make your donation.
Many lupus patients do benefit from the work that we do as volunteers. We thank you for your consideration and generosity.
Jamesetta Smith
President
Lupus Foundation of Arkansas Inc.
Editorial on 03/23/2017