October is National Lupus Awareness Month

As usual, every October I like to draw my readers' attention to the fact that this month is National Lupus Awareness Month. My oldest daughter, who is now 21, was diagnosed with lupus nephritis when she was 16 years old. She recently gave birth to a baby daughter, and my daughter's prayer is that her daughter will not suffer from from this disease.

Please visit the Lupus Foundation of America website for further information on this insidious disease. While my daughter is now in remission, the disease can flare up again at any given moment. In fact, she is at a higher risk over the next 6 months of developing a flare due to recently giving birth, what with all of the hormonal changes her body went through as a result of the pregnancy.

If you are so inclined, the Lupus Foundation is a great organization for which to send a monetary donation. They still have yet to unlock the causes behind this mysterious disease, and progress in finding new treatments is slow, but I do know that if my daughter had been born 20 or 30 years earlier, her prognosis would be very grim. Some very famous people have died from this disease, including Flannery O'Connor, who is one of my all-time favorite writers.

On the home front, things are going very well. The baby, KM, is now over 5 pounds, and is a very good baby. TP is a great mom - very attentive and nurturing. She has gone through two hurdles in order to be accepted into nursing school in March, and is waiting on final word for the third hurdle. DQ loves her little niece and has been asked to be the godmother. My husband and I are "adjusting" to grandparenthood quite well - we enjoy having a baby around!!! I'm busy with the family and my work - and I am feeling very blessed. This is my favorite time of year. Last year at this time, I was in much pain; and right now I am in the process of healing from that pain. I have learned many lessons over the past year, and I will be writing more about that in the upcoming weeks/months. God bless you all.