Walkers raise awareness, funds to fight lupus

Michele Shuman suffers from an invisible disease.

That disease is lupus, and it afflicts about 75,000 people in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.

Some people with lupus get a butterfly-shaped rash on their faces. But many do not, making the disease hard for others to notice.

"When you look at someone with lupus, unless they have the rash showing, they don't look like they have anything wrong with them," said Shuman, 54, of Chesterfield County.

Sporting a pumpkin-orange beret and a purple wig, Shuman joined about 650 other lupus patients and supporters in a walk yesterday that went several laps around the three-quarter-mile track at Richmond International Raceway on Laburnum Avenue.

The color purple symbolizes the fight against lupus. Walkers wore purple shirts, jackets and even feather boas. Others carried cardboard butterflies, another lupus symbol, on sticks.

The "Walk for Lupus Now" was held by the Greater Washington Chapter of the nonprofit Lupus Foundation of America. The chapter's coverage area includes Virginia south to the Richmond area.

The event was designed to raise awareness about the disease and, through pledges, to raise money for the chapter to provide free services such as counseling and seminars.

The walkers raised more than $50,000, said Penny Fletcher, president and CEO of the lupus chapter.

Lupus is a chronic disease in which the immune system, which normally fights off harmful germs, turns against the body's healthy cells and tissue.

Lupus symptoms vary, but common ones include the red rash, muscle or joint pain, hair loss and tiredness. Lupus can damage the heart, kidneys and other organs.

"Lupus can be life-threatening, but it is always life-altering," said Fletcher.

Several people with lupus said it's a daily struggle to face the world while dealing with constant pain.

"It's pretty much like being an actress full time," said Lora Bensing, 44, of Vienna in Northern Virginia. She has had lupus for nine years.

Lupus made the news last month when Lucy Vodden, the inspiration for The Beatles' classic song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," died at age 46 after a long battle with the disease.

There is no known cure for lupus, according to the foundation.

Shuman said she had to give up her accounting career when she came down with lupus 15 years ago. For years she was in a wheelchair.

Her family -- husband Rick and two adult children -- provides her the support that many people with lupus don't get, Shuman said.

"I'm lucky to be alive," she said. "I enjoy every day."

Contact Rex Springston at (804) 649-6453 or .