May is Lupus Awareness Month - 2010

May is Lupus Awareness Month. Please join the Lupus Runners (Brian Thomas, Deb Frerick, Tim C. Smith, Cruz Pitre) and the Lupus Foundation of America as we Band Together for Lupus™. Our goal is to raise funds for Lupus research and to bring awareness of this disease to a broader audience.

I know the debilitating affects of Lupus; my wife, Michelle, has lupus. I also have a first cousin, friends (including one of our Lupus Runner, Deb), and several friends with family members that have been diagnosed with this disease.

I'm continuing Brian Thomas' blog (was http://www.lupusrunner.org/) to help raise funds to fight this disease. The Lupus Runner group raises awareness and funds by participating in Lupus walks and by also running in various races throughout the year. Some of our runners' Lupus fund-raising and awareness have garnered the attention of the news media.

Michelle and I at the North Texas Chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America's Walk for Lupus Now 3 mile walk.

 Michelle's Mates at the North Texas Chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America's Walk for Lupus Now 3 mile walk.

Michelle's Mates at the Kennedale Art in the Park 1 mile Fun walk.

My wife and I started last month by getting a group together to raise money during two events. On April 17th, the Kennedale's Art in the Park 1 mile Fun Run.  On April 24th, the North Texas Chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America's Walk for Lupus Now 3 mile walk. We raised $549.50 between both events. Since 2007 the Lupus Runner group have raised over $12,000 for the Lupus Foundation of America. Can you help us continue our cause?

To donate, simply click the "Donate" button on the FirstGiving donation widget on the top right hand side, or go to the FirstGiving page at http://www.firstgiving.com/lupus_runners. When you make a donation, please add a comment. Add "For Cruz" or any other Lupus Runner's name, or something that makes it obvious that your donation arose from reading this page.

God Willing, we will continue to participate in various fund raising/running events throughout the year. We will update the events list to the right of this page in order to continue raising money for the Lupus Foundation of America, through the FirstGiving page. So please, continue your donations, no matter how small.

We should note that we've "followed the money" and all donations go directly to the Lupus Foundation of America. None of it goes to any Lupus Runner. We are only facilitating the fundraising. After you donate you will be able to print out a receipt page and you'll also get an email receipt. If you would prefer not to donate online, you may contact us for our "snail mail" address. We'll donate your money in your name, and send you a receipt.

Thanks,
Brian, Deb, Tim, and Cruz

Visit www.lupus.org/lupusmonth.

A weekend with Lupus

Our plans for this weekend started mid-week when Michelle's cousin sent in her daughter's "Flat Stanley" project through the mail. I took him to work with me and took several pictures of him helping me do some pair programming development. We made plans for Saturday to go and capture Stanley posing in various DFW sites. This was great news as Michelle would be out and about getting some much needed fresh air and exercise. Lupus tends to keep her confined to either the sofa or bed, depending on how bad of flare she is having.

Friday night the boys had some friends stay overnight. Early Saturday morning Michelle decided to make breakfast for us. I noticed she was not moving around in her usual way. I kept an eye on her. She tries very hard not to show that Lupus is bothering her, but I can tell when it is.

After cleaning up the kitchen and washing up, we wait on Michelle's friend who's visiting from Houston. When she arrives, I can tell that Michelle is very happy to see her. Spending time with family and friends keeps her in good spirits and temporarily keeps her mind off the pain for a while.


In the afternoon we took Stanley to Cowboy Stadium, the Ballpark at Arlington, Six Flags, and Valley Ranch. We were heading for downtown Dallas when we decided that we needed to stop for lunch. At first we decided on Mexican food, but then we changed our minds for Pho.


As we sat down I noticed she was rubbing and straightening her fingers. I helped her by rubbing my warm hands against her cold fingers. One thing that we've enjoyed throughout the years is that we are always complementary; if she's hot, I'm cold. If I'm hot, she's cold. So when Michelle feels her fingers and joints stiffening from a Lupus flare, my hands are always a welcome comfort to her. We received our orders and after halfway through her meal, she looses her appetite. Luckily we had already had our favorite Pho egg rolls, with rice noodles wrapped in lettuce and fish sauce. I know that she was beginning to shut down. I had to help her up from the table as she could not do it on her own.

We decide to head back home, but not before we pick up some groceries for Sunday's Super bowl lunch/dinner, and pick up some movies.

To be continued...

Thanks for all of your support these last three years!

As anyone who has come across this blog recently has probably noticed, it hasn't been very active lately. After spending three years building up Lupus Runners and working with other dedicated runners to raise over $12,000 for the Lupus Foundation of America, I have officially redirected the domain name for Lupus Runners (www.lupusrunner.org) over to Cruz Pitre. These past few years I have been pleasantly surprised at how our group has grown and am glad to see that there are so many runners who are willing to contribute their time and energy fundraising even though my time and energy has been limited this past year.

I look forward to continuing to run in 2010 and have my sights on Burning River again. Tim Smith is also putting together a 50k in November or December to help raise more money to fight Lupus. I would love to make it out for that run. I'll also do what I can to continue to help raise money and heighten awareness. Perhaps in a year or so I will sign back on, but I'll probably take a break for 2010. If you are ultrarunner, I'd encourage you to check out Tim's race at http://www.chemsmith.net/50k.html. If you are interested in helping raise money to fight Lupus, I would encourage you to check out Cruz's blog at http://www.lupusrunner.org. Thanks again to everyone who has supported me and the rest of the Lupus Runners over these past three years. Your money has gone to a great cause and your comments and emails have helped inspire our group. See you on the trails.

Posted for Brian Thomas at 6:01 PM

My Initial post

I've procrastinated enough on setting up a blogging page about running and fund raising for the Lupus Foundation of America. So... Here is my first post:

Today I'll run in my first race of the year (Ft. Worth Runners Club Einstein 10k). I would like to use this occasion to raise funds and awareness to this disease to a broad audience for Lupus research. I know the debilitating affects of Lupus, as my wife Michelle, a first cousin Marisol, a co-worker, friends and family members of friends have it.

Brian Thomas has graciously started a blog (http://www.lupusrunner.org/) to help raise funds to fight this disease. Can you help?

To sponsor my fight against Lupus, simply click "Donate" button on the FirstGiving donation widget on the left, or go to Brian's FirstGiving page at http://www.firsgiving.com/lupusrunners. When you make a donation, Please add a comment. Add "FOR Cruz @ Einstein 10k" or something that makes it obvious that your donation arose from reading this page.

God Willing, I will be racing every two weeks. As I register for races, I will update the running events list to the right of this page in order to continue raising money for the Lupus Foundation of America, though the FirstGiving page. So please, continue your donations, no matter how small.

I should note that we've "followed the money" and all donations go directly to the Lupus Foundation of America. None of it goes to me, Brian Thomas, or any other Lupus Runner. We are only facilitating the fundraising. After you donate, you will be able to print out a receipt page, and you'll also get an email receipt. If you would prefer not to donate online, you may contact me for my "snail mail" address. I'll donate your money in your name, and send you a receipt.

Thanks

Cruz