Hello,

My name is Karen and i have been living for 13 years with SLE (systemic Lupus Erythematosus) 

SLE is a condition where ones immune system is over active and instead of doing its job of attacking viruses and infections it attacks ones own body.

Symptoms include:

Chronic fatigue, skin rashes, joint and muscular pains, hair loss, depression, inflammation surrounding the soft tissues around the joints and internal organs, Dry eyes, kidney problems, and many more.

There is no cure for lupus and it can sometimes be fatal, however with current treatments it is possible to manage the disease activity in many patients. Treatment and diagnosis have come a long way in recent years.

My disease activity however has proven difficult to manage with current drug treatments, and I have been in active disease (flare) for the majority of this time. I now have considerable damage to the soft tissues surrounding all my joints, and in constant pain and state of fatigue. Have lost a lot of my hair and other symptoms.

So what have I decided to do?

Well I thought I would join St Thomas’s lupus trust in a charity superhero walk to raise money for more research into new treatments for SLE.

Mad as it seems considering my restricted mobility, I am confident that with your support and the help of my trusted crutch and trainers I will be able to complete the 5km walk around Greenwich Park, London on the 13^th of June 2010.

So please show your support by donating as much or as little as you feel you are able too. All the money will go to St. Thomas Lupus foundation

For more information on SLE and the trust please go to:

http://www.lupus.org.uk/default.htm

Thanks for taking your time to visit my page

king the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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 UK 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.