Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I shall be participating in the Adidas Women's 5K Challenge taking place in on the 5th of September 2010 in .  I have decided to support the ' Lupus Trust. All donations made to sponsor my participation for this race will go towards Research into Lupus at ’ (The world premier center for Lupus research).

Lupus or (Lupus Systemic Lupus Erythematosus - SLE) is, presently, an incurable illness of the immune system. A condition in which the body’s defence mechanism begins to attack itself through an excess of antibodies in the blood stream causing inflammation and damage in the joints, muscles and other vital organs like the kidneys (and in severe cases blood clots in the brain leading to stroke).

The majority of Lupus patients are young women of childbearing age (15-55) but men and even young children can be affected. It is estimated that 1 in 750 women suffer from Lupus in the with the ratio of women to men being 9:1. Lupus is a worldwide disease more common in some races than others. The incidence in white women is 1 in 1000 compared with that in black women of 1 in 250 and Asian races also have a higher tendency to Lupus. Only 10% of Lupus patients are male.

My condition was first diagnosed 15yrs ago after the birth of my son & I have since been undergoing all sorts of treatments to manage this potentially deadly illness. Thanks to new breakthroughs in medical science, researchers at St Thomas’ have been able to pioneer treatment that, though, doesn’t stop it, manages to impede its rapid progress to a bearable level through a daily curtail of drugs.

This Trust is dear to my heart not least for saving my life in the early years when my condition was very precarious at best. For most of you that know me personally, I haven’t until now informed you of this, I hope by coming out through this event (by the inspiration & advise of my dear friend Ms. Ndidi Ifeacho), I can in my own small way say thanks to the organization keeping me alive today & help to aid the research that may some day create a cure for this illness.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

Thank You,

Caroline Nwadu